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New Mexico has a complex gambling past. 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 assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.