New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.