New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked 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 panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying 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 government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners 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 earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.