New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico 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 ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.