New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.