New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent 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 over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.