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New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.

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