New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.