New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.