New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces 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 deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.