New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $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 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.
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