New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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