New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled 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 required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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