New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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