New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, 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, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
