New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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