Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
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