New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might 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 announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big 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 seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.