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New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract 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 bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico 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 Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.