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New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.