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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico 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 process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.