New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
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