New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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