New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. 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 earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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