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New Mexico has a complex gaming 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 Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn't be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90's. That's without doubt hopeful thinking.