New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.