New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many 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 compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.