New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. 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 one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.