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New Mexico has a rocky gambling 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 Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn't be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-gaming 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 the deal, thus 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 legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90's. That's most likely wishful thinking.