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New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big 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 1995, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In 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 one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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