Gov. Susana Martinez Signs Gaming Compact

STATE News:

  • Agreement Allows Casinos To Operate Another 22 Years; Adds Stability, Transparency

SANTA FE — Today, Gov. Susana Martinez brought together Native American tribal leaders from around the state to sign a new gaming compact, which will allow them to operate casinos for another 22 years.

Leaders from the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Jemez, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, and the Navajo Nation gathered at the Governor’s Office for her signature.

“I’m pleased that we were able to come together to secure this compact,” Martinez said. “It preserves the stability and predictability of gaming in New Mexico while addressing key priorities of the State and each individual tribal government.”

This compact is the result of three years of hard work and good faith negotiations between Governor Martinez and tribal leaders. The compact addresses each tribal government’s unique challenges and priorities in a fair and responsible way.

 It preserves the established framework of tribal gaming in New Mexico while giving tribes important tools that will help them continue to grow and thrive.

The compact is a balanced approach that provides economic development opportunities for tribes, protects the revenue the State receives, and ensures safe and responsible tribal gaming in New Mexico.

With this compact, the tribes will provide regular reports to the State about their gaming activities so the State can identify problems quickly and work with tribes to resolve them. State regulators will have better access to information than ever before to ensure compliance with the compact terms.

In exchange for the significant benefits they receive in this compact, the tribes have agreed to increase the revenue sharing amounts they pay to the State.

 The compact also better addresses problem gambling issues by putting a percentage of gaming revenue toward treatment services, providing new transparency on how those funds are being used, and including tribal casinos, for the first time, in a statewide self-exclusion program for problem gamblers that only private race tracks had participated in up until now.

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