New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.