New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.