New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.