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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn't be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as an important issue like they did back in the 90's. That's probably hopeful thinking.