New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the government of New Mexico 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 process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.