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New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.