New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.