New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico many 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 ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $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 earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.