New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
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