New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might 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 assembled a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.