Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces 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 deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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