Sandia, San Felipe adopt 2015 casino compact

Casinos see benefit in new agreement

SANTA FE — Two more Indian tribes in New Mexico are operating their casinos under the state-tribal gambling agreement endorsed by the Legislature and Gov. Susana Martinez last year.

The compacts between the state and the pueblos of Sandia and San Felipe took effect on Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Interior.

That means all but a couple of New Mexico tribes with casinos are now operating under the 2015 compact, which has more favorable terms for them than previous compacts.

Sandia and San Felipe pueblos were previously covered by a 2007 compact. Their shift to the 2015 compact leaves only one tribe, Santa Ana Pueblo, still operating under the 2007 agreement, according to Jeremiah Ritchie, Martinez’s deputy chief of staff.

There is no requirement for tribes to switch to the newer compact, which expires in 2037, just as the 2007 compact does.

The 2015 agreement allows round-the-clock casino operations, credit for high rollers, expanded complimentary food and lodging, and — in some cases — lower revenuesharing payments from the tribes to the state.

All told, 15 tribes are now covered by the 2015 compact. Two of them — Jemez Pueblo and Zuni Pueblo — signed the agreements, although they have not yet opened casinos.

The only other tribe with casinos, Pojoaque Pueblo, had a compact that expired in June 2015. The tribe remains embroiled in court disputes with the state, and the U.S. attorney for New Mexico has allowed its casinos north of Santa Fe to stay open while a federal court case is pending.

As with the other tribes that signed the 2015 gambling agreement, the compacts for Sandia and San Felipe were deemed approved by Interior after a 45-day period during which the Interior secretary neither approved nor denied them.