STATE AUDITOR BACKS TRIBES IN “FREE PLAY” DISPUTE
The outgoing state auditor, sided with the tribes in the contentious, long-going dispute with the NM Gaming Control Board over the “free play” slot issue.The state has lo…ng insisted that the complimentary credit (free play) given by the tribes to gamblers as a reward for patron loyalty and excessive spending should be counted as revenue by the tribes in computing revenue sharing owed to the state. The tribes assert that the board reasoning violates the gambling compacts worked out between the tribes and the state, and that the tribes should not include “free play” in the revenue sharing calculation.The auditor says that the board is using an accounting method inconsistent with the 2001 compacts, and that the board has not applied appropriate accounting procedures in dealing with this dispute.
The report doesn’t have the force of law, but would give the tribe valuable ammunition in its legal battle against the Gaming Control Board.
An article in today’s Albuquerque Journal gives more information on this story.
