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New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming 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 deal, thus denying the state 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 accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.