New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined 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 Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.