New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.