New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with two big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups 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 deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
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