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New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn't be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990's. That's probably wishful thinking.