New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two big 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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