[ English ]

New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.