New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important 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 over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.