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New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many 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 process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90's. That is most likely wishful thinking.