New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.