New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.