New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing 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 government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.