New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
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