New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In 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 surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.