New Mexico has a complex gambling history. 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 Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.