New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.