[ English ]

New Mexico has a rocky gaming 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 would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.