New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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