New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby 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 government, to get the process moving 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 American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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