New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.