New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.