New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord 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 seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.