New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 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 Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an accord with two important local tribes 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 Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.