New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. 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 cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.