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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.