New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling groups 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, therefore denying the state of New Mexico 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 contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.