The Navajo Nation as well as all the other tribes, which are currently allowed to operate within the state of New Mexico, are going to ask local authorities for approval of a new pact since their agreements expire in four months.
Tribes representatives announced that they have already discussed the above-mentioned pact with the Governor and their compact will most probably be introduced to the Legislature in the next few days.
Senator Clemente Sanchez, the chairman of the Committee on Compacts, was reached for a comment and said that he expects the compact to move fast once it is presented to local authorities.
Governor Susana Martinez, however, said that all too often negotiations can be difficult and take longer than expected.
This year, tribes hope everything to go as planned, since last year, the Senate rejected the pact formed between the Navajo Nation and Gov. Martinez.
In point of fact, it would not be excessive to say that tribes are really pressed for time. The legislative session is supposed to end in the third week of March and they are legally allowed to operate within the state until June 30th.
The President of Navajo Nation, Ben Shelly, gave a brief interview for local media and said that the most sensible thing authorities could do was to give the nod to that compact, as it is financially beneficial to the state.
Those who keep themselves informed about the tribal gambling affairs hurried up to remind that last year Navajo Nation asked for permission to build three casino venues but their proposal met the opposition of the other tribes, which were concerned about the tough competition they had to deal with.
This year, the proposal is a bit different, though. If approved, the Navajos will be eligible for building another casino and continue operating the two existing ones.
As for the other tribes, their contracts also expire at the end of June but according to the information they revealed, they are not going to establish new casinos anytime soon.
However, there is one setback in this year’s compact. There is a provision in it, defined as incompatible with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The bone of contention is whether tribes are allowed to establish casinos on lands, acquired in trust after 1988.
The compact has to be approved by the Legislature and the Interior Department. Members of the latter submitted a letter to the Senator and announced that the provision “may be contrary to IGRA”.
Although in some cases the Act allows the construction of casinos on land, acquired after 1988, certain restrictions are still applied.
