New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King 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 American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.