New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit 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 grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.