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New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord 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 took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.