New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.