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New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby 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 government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990's. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.