New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the government of New Mexico 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 ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.