New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. 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 Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.