New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups 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 accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
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