New Mexico has a complex gaming 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 get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
