New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.