New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.