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New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing 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 process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.