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New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government 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 compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew 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 largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
July 12th, 2016
Dayton
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