New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.