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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.

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