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New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the state 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 process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.