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New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In 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 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.

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