New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
