New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.