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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked 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 assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990's. That's most likely wishful thinking.