New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, 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 gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
