New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.