New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.