New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.