New Mexico has a stormy 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 cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.