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New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.