New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore 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, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In 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 grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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