New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. 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 get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused 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 Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a key factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
