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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.