New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the 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 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 accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.