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New Mexico has a stormy 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 American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent 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 over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
