New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government 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 gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.