New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.