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New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.

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