New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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