New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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