New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying 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 ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.