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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes 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 1995, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government 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 ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.