New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government 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 house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
