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 might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.