New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, 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 case.

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

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.