New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) won't approve an off-reservation casino for the Fort Sill Apache Tribe if it comes across her desk.

When asked if she supported the casino, her answer was simply "No." She added that the tribe promised not to engage in gaming when it submitted a land-into-trust application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"What happened way before me, which is an agreement by the tribe that they would not be involved in gaming and that commitment they made to the U.S. government," Susana said at a speech, The Deming Headlight reported.

The tribe has a 30-acre reservation near Deming. The land, however, was taken into trust after 1988.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act generally bars gaming on lands acquired after 1988. But the two-part determination section allows tribes to open a casino newly acquired land if both the state and federal government agree.

Get the Story:
No casino support from governor; Martinez says tribe agreed not to open gaming (The Deming Headlight 4/18)

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