Catawbas sue state, claim right to video poker

Jacob Jordan

Friday, July 29, 2005 | 9:17 a.m.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The Catawba Indian Nation sued the state of South Carolina on Thursday, claiming the tribe has the right to operate video gambling and other gaming machines on its reservation in York County.

The lawsuit comes after the Catawbas tried to build an electronic, high-stakes bingo parlor in Santee to offset losses the tribe said it has incurred in competition with the South Carolina lottery. The tribe's attempts to set up the bingo hall have been stymied by legislative opposition.

After holding out hope for two years that a bill allowing the bingo hall would pass the General Assembly, the Catawbas filed the lawsuit in state court.

"Had the legislation been passed to allow the tribe to have a state-of-the-art bingo hall in Santee, we wouldn't be arguing whether or not the tribe has its right to video poker on its reservation," said tribe attorney Jay Bender.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster and Gov. Mark Sanford have both said they do not think the Catawbas have the right to operate video gambling machines. An attorney general's opinion says video gambling became illegal everywhere in the state, including the Catawba reservation, when the state outlawed the machines in 2000.

McMaster's office previously intervened in a similar federal lawsuit the Catawbas filed, and the attorney general's spokesman Trey Walker said Thursday's filing "amounts to a rehash" of that suit, which was dismissed.

"When it comes to fighting and winning gambling cases in our state courts, this attorney general is undefeated and unscored on and has been highly successful in fighting the re-emergence of video gambling," Walker said. "The state court jurisdiction is a home-court advantage for the antigambling forces."

In the previous lawsuit, a federal judge said the tribe needed to resolve its struggle over leadership and determine who speaks for the tribe. Bender said the tribe took a voluntary dismissal because the judge indicated she didn't think she had jurisdiction because the tribe gave up its right to go to federal court.

"We were astonished that a federal judge would think an Indian tribe would give up the right to go to federal court, but we don't have 10 years to argue that point," assistant chief Evans George said in a statement. "This is a continuation of the tribe's effort to secure the financial benefit of the land claim settlement."

That settlement allowed the tribe to operate bingo games in two locations, but legislative approval is needed for the Santee facility, which would offer bigger prizes by linking it to other games nationwide, Bender said.

This lawsuit is slightly different than the previous one in that it claims the state violated the 1993 settlement by changing the agreement without the tribe's consent. Legislation in 1996 and 1998 imposed an _$18 entrance fee surcharge on the tribe's bingo operation and changed the method of taxing the game. The tribe had to change how the game was marketed, Bender said. The change means the tribe can't give away bingo cards or discount cards, he said.

"What the state and other local governments in South Carolina have failed to do is acknowledge that the Catawba Indian Nation is a sovereign government entitled to respect," Bender said. "This is a constant problem for tribes."