SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A proposed gambling compact with the Navajo Nation ran into opposition Wednesday from other tribes and pueblos in New Mexico because it would allow the Navajos to open additional casinos.

In testimony to a legislative committee, leaders from Laguna and Acoma pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache Nation said that more casinos would dilute their share of a saturated gambling market, possibly forcing them to cut tribal services and reduce the workers in their casinos.

“We rely on gaming revenues to operate tribal government,’’ Acoma Gov. Fred Vallo said.

Navajo President Ben Shelly defended the compact negotiated with Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration. The proposal would allow the tribe to open three additional casinos over 15 years.

“We need economic development and employment,’’ Shelly said.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate LoRenzo Bates told lawmakers that the tribe had no definite plans for opening future casinos in New Mexico.

The Committee on Compacts will hold a meeting at a later date to consider whether to recommend its approval by the House and Senate.

The proposed agreement needs approval from the Legislature and the U.S. Interior Department before it can take effect.

The Navajos operate two Las Vegas-style casinos in New Mexico under terms of a compact expiring in 2015. The tribe has a third casino with low-stakes gambling not subject to state regulation

Sen. Clemente Sanchez, a Grants Democrat and committee member, said in an interview that he wanted tribal and state officials to go back to the negotiating table to limit the Navajos to their current casinos.

New Mexico received about $71 million from tribal casinos last year.

The Navajos and the Martinez administration negotiated a proposed compact last year, but the House and Senate didn’t vote on it.

Martinez general counsel Jessica Hernandez said negotiators revamped the proposal to address concerns raised by the Interior Department and lawmakers.

Last year’s proposed compact would have allowed the Navajos to operate five Las Vegas-style casinos – three in addition to its current two.

The latest proposal also would permit five, but phase in the additional casinos over at least 15 years.

The expansion could start after five years from the time the compact is approved, with the tribe able to operate a third casino. A fourth casino would be allowed after 10 years and a fifth after 15 years.

There is no limit on the number of casinos under the current compact with the Navajo Nation and four other tribes – the Mescalero and Jicarilla Apaches as well as Acoma and Pojoaque pueblos.

Nine other New Mexico tribes have different compacts with the state, approved in 2007, and they can only operate two casinos.

The latest compact eliminated a provision that drew criticism last year from other tribes because it would have set a precedent by having the Navajos make revenue-sharing payments to the state on a portion of “free play,’’ in which casinos offer promotions allowing customers to gamble for free.

Tribal casino payments to the state generally are based on slot-machine proceeds from wagering after a deduction for how much gamblers win.

The latest compact calls for the Navajos to make payments under the same terms as tribes covered by the 2007 agreements with the state. Those rates are higher than what the Navajos currently pay.