New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying 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 compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
May 5th, 2025
Izayah
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