New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
October 22nd, 2021
Abigail
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