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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering groups 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 accord, therefore costing 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 government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.