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New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.

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