New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
