New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico 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 ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.