New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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