New Mexico has a complex gambling background. 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 American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government 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 legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.