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New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. 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 assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 prominent 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 office in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.