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New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took 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 American Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.