New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found 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 fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.