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New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. 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 bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing 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, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased 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 passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.