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New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

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

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990's. That is without doubt wishful thinking.