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New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was signed 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 craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, 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 between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

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

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.

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