New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.