New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico 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 contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.