New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many 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 contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.