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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying 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 government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.