New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, 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, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.