New Mexico has a stormy gambling past. 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 Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.