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New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.