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New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing 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 house, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990's. That's without doubt hopeful thinking.