New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.