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New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore 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, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.

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