New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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 legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.