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New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the state 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 government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.