New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.