New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.