New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore 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 process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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