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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.