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New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico 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 amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.