New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.