New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly beloved 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 in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.