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New Mexico has a stormy gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing the government 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 ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.