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New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the state 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 government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.

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