New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.