New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many 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 accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.