New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the government 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 government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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