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New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn't be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor 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 CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90's. That's most likely wishful thinking.