New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.