New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many 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 process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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