New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. 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 cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government 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 process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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