New Mexico has many forms of gambling. Horse racing as well as charitable gambling operations have been in existence for many decades. In 1996 a state lottery began operations. Fourteen Native American tribes have been able to negotiate the right to offer casino gambling.
With the expanding gambling establishments, the horse tracks of New Mexico were heavily hit by competition during the 1990s. Over the years the tracks in the state sought relief from the state legislature. Finally, in 1997, the tracks were authorized to have slot machines. The state agreed to let tracks have 300 machines each as long as they could all be tied together in a slot information network. The tracks give 25% of the revenue directly to the state and give 20 percent to horsemen through race purses. The tracks keep 55%. Machines are permitted to run twelve hours a day, every day – as long as the track offers some racing products.
On 4 May 1999, Ruidoso Downs, less than a half an hour away from the large Native American casino of the Mescalero Apache tribe, was permitted to start operating its machines. The track also has simulcast racing each day of the year so the slot machines are available to players 365 days. Live thoroughbred and quarter horse racing occurs four days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The nation’s leading quarter horse race – the All American Futurity – is run on Labor Day. The track is beginning to turn around several years of losses (it never stopped racing), but it would like to be able to stay open longer hours and also have more machines in order to compete more equitably with the Mescalero casino.
Nonprofit clubs are also permitted to have fifteen gambling machines each.
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