New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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