New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
