New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.