New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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