New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.
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