New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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