New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore 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 compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.