New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
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