New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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