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New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.