New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore 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, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.