New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
This entry was posted on January 5, 2010, 3:22 pm and is filed under Casino. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.