New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.