New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico 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 ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
