New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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 process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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