New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with two 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 appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.