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New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90's. That's probably wishful thinking.