New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed 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 appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, 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-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.