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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state 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 government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.