New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.