New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.