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New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor 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 Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key factor like they did back in the 1990's. That's without doubt hopeful thinking.