New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico 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 process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.