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New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in the 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 fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.