New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing 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 process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.