New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.