New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.