01.09
New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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