New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took 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 Native tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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