New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
