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New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.