New Mexico AG intends to sue Indian casinos over revenue sharing

Tuesday, May 30, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

ALBUQUERQUE -- Attorney General Patricia Madrid says she will take New Mexico tribes to court by mid-June over their refusal to share casino gambling profits with the state.

"There comes a time when litigation is necessary, and now is that time," Madrid said here Friday during a Legislative Finance Committee meeting.

She said she would ask the U.S. District Court to decide whether the state's demand that tribes pay 16 percent of slot-machine profits is legal under the U.S. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Deputy Attorney General Stuart Bluestone said Madrid also will ask the court to stop all tribal gambling while the court considers the lawsuit.

"No gaming should be allowed unless there is full compliance, and that includes making back payments and current payments based on the 16 percent revenue-sharing rate," Bluestone said Friday.

Frank Chaves, chairman of the New Mexico Indian Gaming Association, said tribes are ready to go to court.

"Maybe this is the best way to get answers," Chaves said.

All 12 casino-operating tribes have refused to pay the state, saying 16 percent is illegally high.

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