New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
August 15th, 2023
Elliana
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