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New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many 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 contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.