New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the state 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.