New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important 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 office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.