New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian tribes, 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 the compact, 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, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.