[ English ]

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 might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required 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 American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.