New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
January 16th, 2016
Meadow
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