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New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, 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, thus denying 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 legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.