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New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
