New Mexico Sports Betting Celebrates 1-Year Anniversary

• The Santa Ana Star Casino offered the first legal sportsbook in the state of New Mexico.
• One year later, four gambling establishments offer an outlet for New Mexico sports bettors.
• With over two dozen casinos in the state, expansion is inevitable, especially in the big cities.

BERNALILLO, N.M. – New Mexico sports betting is officially one year old. On Wednesday, the Santa Ana Star Casino celebrated its anniversary of opening its doors to legal sports betting.

New Mexico was a state that went through their legalization process unlike any other. Instead of having legislators create laws in support of the industry, the Santa Ana Pueblo took it upon themselves to offer the product without the signature of approval from the lawmakers. As state-licensed casinos are required to have laws backing their operations, casinos in New Mexico are operated solely by Native American tribes, giving them the ultimate power.

The Santa Ana Star realized that the ability to offer sports betting wasn’t excluded from their tribal compact, and began offering the product a year ago. The state legislators, with no power to reject their claim, also did nothing to appeal the casino’s decision, making New Mexico the fifth state to launch a sportsbook after the repeal of PASPA.

One year later, sports betting in New Mexico is thriving. Three other operations have opened since, and the sportsbooks are stationed near the major cities of the state.

The Pojoaque Pueblo Tribe launched in March of this year at Santa Fe’s Hilton Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, while the Isleta Pueblo opened their doors at Albuquerque’s Isleta Resort & Casino just recently.

Off in the federally recognized tribal area of Mescalero, the Mescalero Apache Tribe also launched operations at their Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort shortly after Hilton Buffalo Thunder opened.

New Mexico Sports Betting Revenue

Unlike the majority of other legal sports betting states with commercial properties, the tribal casinos that host sportsbooks are not required to release their financial data. As the state is still “unregulated”, there are no additional tax contributions that they tribes must pay, but rather their revenue figures and taxation fall in line with the current tribal compact.

It is nearly impossible to gauge how much money is bet on sports in New Mexico, but estimates and discussions around the state have been positive.

“We understand the tribal gaming world and we respect that world, and the tribes go along with what their compacts allow them to do,” said Jay Vaccaro, the director of sales at LVDC. “We’re about driving business and making sure it runs smoothly, so now it’s something where everyone who walks in there can have the things that Las Vegas casinos have.”

New Mexico isn’t Las Vegas, but the state is definitely working toward increasing foot traffic at their gambling establishments. Their hope is to provide their residents with a safe and legal outlet that requires no traveling outside of the state and limited traveling inside of it.

New Mexico has roughly two dozen casinos with a handful of additional racinos within the state. As the state celebrates its one-year anniversary of legal sports betting on Wednesday, there is still much room for growth and improvement that everyone should be sure to keep an eye on heading into Year 2.

News tags: New Mexico | PASPA | Santa Ana Star Casino