New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.