New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands 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 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
December 24th, 2016
Tamara
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