New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled 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 revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.