New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.