New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling 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, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.