New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was signed 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 guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In 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 exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
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