New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired 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 then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.