New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many 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 amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.