New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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