New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

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

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.