New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.