Gesetzgebung

US – Navajo gaming compact clears next round of approvals

House approval has been granted to the Navajo Nation to open three new casinos in New Mexico, taking its total to five, as part of a gambling compact approved by the state legislature.

The vote was 36-30, with opponents concerned about more casinos in a saturated gambling market and the impact of some of the compact’s provisions on other tribes’ negotiations. The compact must now be approved by the Senate, as well as the US Interior Department, for it to take effect.

Under the new deal, the Navajos will be allowed to open a new casino five years after the compact is approved. A fourth casino would be allowed after 10 years and a fifth after 15 years.

Nine other New Mexico tribes have different compacts with the state, approved in 2007, limiting them to two casinos.

The latest agreement will see the Navajos make higher payments to the state under the same terms as tribes covered by the 2007 compacts.

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly said: “It’s a good thing for the people. I foresee another casino being built to be a long, long way off.”

Republican Sandra Jeff added: “It’s economic development. That’s the bottom line.”

Die drei Casinos wären auf die Standorte der derzeit zwei Casinos des Stammes beschränkt; das Fire Rock Navajo Casino und das Northern Edge Navajo Casino sowie eine Glücksspieleinrichtung der Klasse II. Sie hofft, den Bau eines neuen Casino-Projekts entlang der Interstate 40 westlich von Albuquerque zu verhindern.