New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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