New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

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

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.