New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.