New Mexico’s gaming tribes currently have a contentious relationship with the state government.
Native American gaming tribes formed the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico as part of a public awareness campaign. In all, a dozen tribes made contributions to fund a $292,000 study on problem gambling in the State of New Mexico. This is the first time in over 10 years that research has been conducted on gambling addiction in New Mexico.
The Responsible Gaming Association consist of several Native American Tribes, including tribes which own the Santa Claran Casino, Sky City Casino, San Felipe Casino, and Apache Nugget Casino. Other members of the association own or operate the Wild Horse Casino, Santa Ana Star Casino, Isleta Casino, Taos Mountain Casino, Route 66 Casino, Casino Xpress, Dancing Eagle Casino, and Palace West Casino.
The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation will carry out the new study for the association. The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation is a nonprofit institute based in suburban Washington, D.C. The institute’s clients include federal agencies such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The project’s mission is to promote better health, welfare, and safety in New Mexico gaming by evaluating activities and suggesting new programs.
2019 New Mexico Problem Gambling Study
Rebecca Beardsley, the president of the Responsible Gaming Association, said the group needs updated information on the current issues, so that they are able to fine-tune their prevention efforts of the very existent problem gambling in the state.
Suggesting that an update of the prevention program was overdue, Beardsley said, “We will definitely take a look at that with the results of the study.”
Mental health experts rely on the latest data to educate problem gamblers and their families. The last research done on gambling behavior of New Mexicans was 2006, but much has changed since then. Mobile gaming was not a phenomenon back in 2006, while tastes in slot machines and other casino games have evolved.
The American Psychiatric Association has long classified problem gambling as a mental health disorder. Problem gambling counselors and APA therapists have referred to the disorder by a variety of term, including “compulsive gambling”, pathological gambling, and disordered gambling.
Focus on Adult and Underage Gambling
According to the National Center for Responsible Gaming, the study will examine gambling behavior among adolescents and adults throughout New Mexico. While adult gambling has been the main focus over the years, increasing research focuses on underage gaming, because that is often when bad habits form.
Social gaming on smartphones has become a trend in recent years. While social games are free to play, they contain game mechanics using virtual cash which mimics real money gambling.
When a youth gamer reaches adulthood, some are primed for a life of problem gambling. Loot crates and other paid elements in online games, computer games, and video games has some parents groups and gaming analysts concerned about underage gambling, too.
The study also plans to focus on distinctions between racial and ethnic groups, military service members, parents of minor children, the genders, ethnic minorities, college students, and people with unstable housing.
The goal is to determine what factors make gamblers at risk of developing the mental health disorder, along with factors linked to reduced risk in gamblers. The study is estimated to be completed in late 2019 or early 2020.
2006 Problem Gambling Study
The Responsible Gaming Association also funded the 2006 study of problem gambling in New Mexico. The study showed as many as 15,000 women and 24,000 men in the state were problem gamblers, along with tens of thousands of more New Mexicans that were suspected to be at risk of the mental health disorder.
New Mexicans have had access to a variety of legal gambling opportunities throughout the state over the years, including 25 land-based American Indian casinos in 15 different cities. New Mexico also has 5 pari-mutuel racetracks and 1 bingo hall. In the 1990s, pari-mutuel wagering on horse races, the state lottery, and racetrack casinos were approved. New Mexico laws were changed to allow slot machines in social and fraternal clubs, bringing a whole new level of gambling to the state.
Since then, problem gambling has made the headlines several times in New Mexico over the past two decades. Compulsive gambling even reached the highest levels of state government. In 2015, Dianna Duran resigned as New Mexico’s Secretary of State and pleaded guilty to charges stemming from her use of campaign donations to fund a gambling habit.
New Mexico Gaming Compact
New Mexico’s legislature stipulates that approval of the state’s 14 tribal gaming authorities must put a portion of their revenues towards prevention and treatment of problem gambling.
According to the state Gaming Control Board, the tribes’ problem gambling program contribution last year totaled to $1.8 million. Almost $250,000 of that ended up going to the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico.
The Responsible Gaming Association operates a 24-hour hotline for problem gamblers. They produce educational materials on the issue, train casino workers on how to identify and deal with problem gamblers, as well as fund and offer free counseling and other treatment services to those that need it.
The state government is not as generous with their earnings. In the fiscal year, ending June 30, the state reserved less than $71,000 towards the program, though the tax revenues from gaming totaled more than $156 million in revenues from the state’s lottery, tribes, and racetracks, as well as veterans and fraternal clubs’ charitable gaming operations.
Suzana Martinez – NM Compulsive Gambling Council
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has shown little support for the tribe’s businesses over the years. On top of the state’s minimal funding contribution the government’s Compulsive Gambling Council, which was created in 2006, that same council (headed by Gov. Martinez) has not met in over seven years. The lack of activity goes against the legal requirement that it meet regularly.
Gov. Martinez also has waged a legal battle against several New Mexico tribes while negotiating tribal gaming compact, which required the US Department of the Interior to get involved.
