New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying 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 accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.