New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government 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 compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.