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New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured 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 Native bands. When the task force came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990's. That is probably wishful thinking.