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New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes 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 gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.

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