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New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two important 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 office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government of New Mexico many 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 ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.

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