New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico many 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 amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
