New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore 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 process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
