New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.