New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group 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 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying 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 ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.