New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.