New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing 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 government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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