New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many 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 accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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