New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two 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 Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.