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New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990's. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.