New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.