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New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might 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 panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

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

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.