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New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.

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