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New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.

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