New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming 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, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.