GOOD NEWS—NEW MEXICO RACING COMMISSION WILL NOT APPROVE A SIXTH TRACK LICENSE AT THIS TIME

As reported in the Albuquerque Journal on August first, the New Mexico Racing Commission voted to suspend considerations for approval of a sixth racetrack license. The racing commission appointed by Governor Martinez was seriously considering approving another license, but the commission newly appointed by Governor Grisham decided to drop the process.

Racing commission chair Beverly Bourguet said, “We are not looking at a sixth race track at the time,” suggesting that it was not in the best interests of the existing tracks and the state. The five pre-existing tracks were on record opposing the issuing of a license at this time, saying that the market would not support a sixth license, and the five existing tracks would suffer a loss of revenue. A recent study by the Legislative Finance Committee reported that track revenue was down 6% between 2012 to 2018.

The five existing racinos are in Hobbs, Ruidoso, Farmington, Albuquerque, and Sunland Park. There were three proposals for a track in Clovis, two in Tucumcari and one for Lordsberg. This means those communities won’t be subjected to the social trauma that would inevitably be inflicted on the citizens in those communities.

Praise God. Now we can hope that some of the racinos and tribal casinos go out of business. It’s time for the government to get out of the predatory gambling racket.

2018 GAMBLING REVENUE IN NEW MEXICO

As reported in the AP, the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee recently reported that tribal casino declined in New Mexico from $69.7 million in 2012 to $62.8 million in 2018, which is about a ten percent decline. They also reported that non-tribal gambling (mostly racetrack) declined in the same time period from $63.4 million to $61.6 million.

Although racetrack data is electronically transferred to the gaming control board on a real-time basis, the tribes do self-reporting without any rigorous state oversight. If the tribes report less revenue, they don’t have to pay as much revenue sharing to the state.
It’s encouraging to consider New Mexicans losing less money to predatory gambling interests, and the Pojoaque and Mescalero casinos have been flirting with bankruptcy from time to time, which could hopefully point to less gambling damage in the future.

The last couple of years the New Mexico Racing Commission has been flirting with the idea of approving a sixth racetrack license in one of several potential locations. All five of the current racetrack license holders are opposed to their issuing another license, largely consistent with the decline in track revenues. It makes no sense at all to issue another license, but wealthy gambling interests still want a portion of that shrinking pie.

Lottery income is another issue altogether. They reported a 6% INCEASE in income during 2018, even though they have been vigorously lobbying the legislature to give them Online lottery games to expand even further their growing revenue. You wonder if this is to help offset the 26% pay increase they have approved for lottery CEO David Barden.

An article in the Albuquerque Journal about the lottery can be found by clicking here.

It’s easy to see who are the winners in these scenarios: Gambling industry developers and management. The losers are the citizens of New Mexico 100% of the time.

It’s time for the government to get out of the predatory gambling racket.

As reported in the Albuquerque Journal this morning, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration and the Pojoaque Pueblo have approved a federal court decision to split up the sequestered roughly $10 million 60/40 that was put in a holding account after the pueblo signed the 2015 tribal gambling compacts in 2017.

Pojoaque Pueblo refused to sign the 2015 compacts, signed by all other gambling tribes, saying the governor did not negotiate in “good faith.”  They protested the increase in revenue sharing from the previous compacts, and also wanted to allow 18 year-olds to gamble, alcohol to be served on the gambling floors, and the ability to cash welfare, Social Security and payroll checks.

The tribe fought legal battles in federal courts, but ultimately lost in 2017, and thereafter signed the 2015 compacts.  In the two-year interim the tribe had been forced by the feds to put the disputed revenue sharing in a holding account until the dispute was resolved.  The tribe argued that they needed the money for social programs and other tribal expenses, but the court ruled that the money would be split 40% for the tribes, and 60% for the state.

Governor Grisham’s chief counsel, Matt Garcia, was said to have conducted a risk assessment, and said that, “this outcome was undeniably most favorable for the state.”

Governor Lujan Grisham received about $11,000 from the pueblo in the recent gubernatorial election, as well as contributions during her two successful campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives.  Her representatives said that these donations had nothing to do with signing an agreement that returned over four million dollars of illegal gambling revenue to the pueblo.

The lesson learned here seems to be that if tribes fight the state long and hard enough, they are going to get a lot of what they want from the state.  They certainly got a much better deal than the other tribes who paid their contracted revenue sharing to the state during those two years.

It’s time for the state to get out of the predatory gambling racket.