[ English ]

New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.