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New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.