New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby 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 legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.