New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.