New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
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 contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, 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 gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
