New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.