New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian 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 would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state 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 government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.