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New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore 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 ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit 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 certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.