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New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn't be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, Governor King declined 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 appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90's. That is most likely hopeful thinking.