New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.