New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might 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 assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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