New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
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