New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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