[ English ]

New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.