New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico many 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 accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
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