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New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped 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 required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.