New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might 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 assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.