New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the government 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.