New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state 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 government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.