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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 would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required 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. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.