New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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