New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. 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 exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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