New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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 government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.