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New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the government of New Mexico 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 compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian 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. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.