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New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.