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New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn't be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 1990's. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.