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New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

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

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.