New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico many 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 State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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