New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.