New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 big 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 Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.