New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native tribes, 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 accord, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.
July 12th, 2018
Tamara
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