New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces 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 a deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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