New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 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 American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.