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New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed 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 panel in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native 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 deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

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

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90's. That's without doubt wishful thinking.