Opinion

Editorial: Internet gaming can help state fix budget crunch

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

"Officials at the New Mexico Lottery and the state Gaming Control Board, which oversees gambling at Indian casinos, racetrack casinos and veterans and fraternal clubs, are starting to look at what a piece of that could mean to the state’s bottom line.

New Mexico tribal gaming compacts give Indian tribes exclusive rights to run Class III gambling such as slots, craps, house-banked card games and roulette in exchange for a cut of the take on slot machines. The lottery and a limited number of slots at racetracks and veterans and fraternal clubs are exceptions.

There is a legal argument the compacts wouldn’t prevent the state from legalizing, regulating and taxing online gambling. The tribes are weighing their options, too, and with millions of dollars at stake, it’s not likely they would back away from this virtual poker table."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Should N.M. Roll The Dice on “I-Gaming?’ (The Albuquerque Journal 1/31)