New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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