New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
