New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, 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 task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing 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, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.