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A South Carolina tribe that owns a casino in North Carolina is appealing a “Notice of Violation” issued by the federal agency regulating Indian gaming, and the dispute might spill over into the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign.
The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) on December 7 announced the Catawba Nation Indians, whose territory is located near Rock Hill, South Carolina, is not complying with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988.
The NIGC claims the Catawba Tribe has allowed Sky Boat Partners, LLC of Raleigh, North Carolina, to oversee the expansion of the tribe’s Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, without an approved management contract.
Fines of up to $57,527 per day could be assessed by the NIGC against the Catawba Tribe, Sky Boat and associated executives if the dispute is not settled.
The NIGC also has the authority to shut down the Two Kings Casino, although that outcome is considered unlikely.
“No fine has been assessed, issued or paid. The matter remains open and continues through the post Notice of Violation process,” Mavis Harris, a communications specialist for the NIGC, told VIXIO GamblingCompliance in an email on Tuesday (January 31).
The NIGC becomes concerned whenever there are signs of “gamesmanship,” or the manipulation of Indian gaming operations by non-tribal business interests.
“We do not take this enforcement action lightly but do so to preserve the integrity of the industry and protect the valuable tool Indian gaming represents for many tribes as codified in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,” NIGC chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer said in a statement when the notice of violation was issued in December.
The NIGC continues to be leery of Sky Boat owner Wallace Cheves, according to a source who requested anonymity.
Cheves was indicted on December 17, 2002 by a federal court in Akron, Ohio, for illegal gambling, fraud and money laundering but all charges against him were dropped on January 23, 2003.
IGRA authorizes the NIGC to reject management contracts which are considered unfavorable to tribes operating casinos, generally limiting the outside partner to a maximum of 30-40 percent of the revenue.
In a statement on the Catawba Tribe’s Facebook page, tribal leaders said they were cooperating with the NIGC in an effort to “resolve these issues as quickly as possible.”
“The issues do not involve current casino operations,” the Catawba statement said.
In July, the Wall Street Journal reported the husband of Nikki Haley, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations and a former South Carolina governor, was among those who profited from ownership shares in a company supplying slot machines to the Catawba casino.
Haley is considered a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
A brother of former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, who played a pivotal role in helping Joe Biden win the 2020 presidential election, also benefited from shares in the slot machine company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The individuals mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article have denied any wrongdoing.
It was Clyburn’s federal bill which authorized the Catawba Tribe to open the Two Kings Casino on land in North Carolina even though the tribe's historic reservation lands were in another state.
Clyburn received crucial support from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer of New York.
Delaware North, the gaming and hospitality company based in Buffalo, New York, has been hired by the Catawba Tribe as a consultant and is expected to manage operations at Two Kings Casino when it is fully developed, sources said.
