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New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two big local tribes 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.