New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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