New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying 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, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.