New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government 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 compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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