New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
