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New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands 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 appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.

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