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New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the government 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 legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.