New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.