New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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