New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent 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 appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.
