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New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. 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 American Indian bands. When the panel came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord 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 government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.