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New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. 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 cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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 ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.