New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.