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New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a 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 government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990's. That's probably wishful thinking.