New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the government 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 government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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