The North Carolina Senate recently voted 43-7 to approve an amended version of state Senator Jim Davis’ Senate Bill 154, allowing tribal casinos to offer sports wagering and off-track betting. The measure has the support of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who operate casinos in Cherokee and Murphy. The measure now goes to the House.
Davis said the legislation “doesn’t expand the geography of gaming” in the state but would generate $14 million in additional revenue for the tribe and $1 million in revenue for the state. He added, “Table games and slot machines and all those ancillary gambling opportunities are already legal in this state. This just expands it to cover sports wagering already deemed to be legal. The Eastern Band has been incredibly vigilant, been good stewards of the money.”
Eastern Band Principal Chief Richard Sneed said, “Once passed, our two casinos will begin offering sports betting.” He added the new options would provide additional amenities for patrons but would not be big money-makers for the tribe’s casinos.
Davis introduced the original version of the bill in February. He said it offered a “simplistic” definition of sports betting as the “placing of wagers on the outcome of professional and collegiate sports contests.” The measure now includes bets on horseraces and limited betting only within Class III casinos on tribal lands.
The Eastern Band would not be the only casino operators in North Carolina under S.790, sponsored by, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis and Richard Burr. The bill would allow the South Carolina-based Catawba Indian Nation to open a $560 million facility on land it owns in Kings Mountain, 45 minutes from Charlotte; 30 percent of Eastern Band casino visitors come from Charlotte. Graham said, “The Catawba Nation has been treated unfairly by the federal government, and our legislation rights that wrong.” The bill passed its first two readings and currently is before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
But Graham’s legislation is getting major pushback. State Senator Norm Sanderson said it would allow “an outside tribe to come in buy land in North Carolina and set up their own gambling establishment. I think that, if that were to go through, we have laid a foundation for a lot of tribes to come in and do the same thing.”
In addition, Haywood County officials said they support the Eastern Band in opposing the proposed Catawba casino. Commissioners there passed a resolution asking the U.S. Senators to withdraw the legislation, said Haywood County Commission Chairman Kevin Ensley. According to the resolution, the “establishment of a Catawba Indian Nation casino in North Carolina under S.790 would result in fewer jobs offered by the Cherokee casino resorts and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal operations, thereby affecting the unemployment rate in Western North Carolina, and the salaries, wages and other investments recycled back into the local and regional economy.”
The resolution also noted the proposed Catawba casino “would result in lost investments and revenue in Western North Carolina and most of the Catawba casino revenues going to South Carolina casino developers and a South Carolina Indian tribe.” Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick said, “This is an issue we should treat as if this business was located in Haywood County and employed approximately 500 people in Haywood County.”
The Catawba Nation has been pursuing the Kings Mountain casino project for more than five years. However, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has yet to decide on the tribe’s land-trust application for the gaming site, which is 47 miles from the tribe’s Rock Hill, South Carolina headquarters but is included in its service area.
S.790 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
