New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby 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 government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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