New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. 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 cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
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