New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.