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New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the state 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.