New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.