New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might 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 assembled a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
