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New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
