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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.