New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes 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 appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.