New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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