New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands 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 seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.