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New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn't be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90's. That's most likely wishful thinking.