New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government 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 process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.