New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group 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 appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
