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New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused 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 gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying 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 process moving on a full compact amongst 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 industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.