New Mexico has a complex gambling background. 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 Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.