New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
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