Cherokee Negotiations

Story >

Cherokee Gambling Negotiations End

Special Report - April 21, 2006
Months of negotiations between Governor Mike Easley’s office and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians came to a sudden end on April 18 after the two sides failed to agree on a plan that would have significantly expanded the tribe’s gambling privileges, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. Since April of last year, the Eastern Band has been seeking modifications to the tribal-state compact including expanding the forms of gambling that are permissible on the tribe’s reservation in western North Carolina. Currently, gambling at the casino is limited to bingo, raffles, and video based games, but the proposed revisions sought by the tribe would have allowed Las Vegas style gambling, which involves live dealers who conduct such games as poker, craps, and blackjack. The tribe was also seeking the ability to build another casino, extend to gamblers higher levels of credit, and other changes.

The News & Observer reports that negotiations collapsed after the state and tribe failed to agree on the allocation of casino profits. During an interview in December 2005, Governor Easley said the tribe would have to offer a suitable amount of funds to North Carolina before the state would consider amending the compact to allow increased gambling privileges. Prior to the breakdown of the negotiations, the Eastern Band reportedly had decided to devote an estimated $10 million to mental health programs in the state, but the tribe and the Governor could not agree on whether to allocate the funds directly to the state or funnel them through the Cherokee’s tribal foundation.

These types of negotiations have become more commonplace, as federally recognized Indian tribes across the country have pursued expanded gambling privileges. Often, in exchange for entering into or expanding the scope of tribal-state compacts, the state in which the tribe resides will require a percentage of the tribe’s gambling revenues.

To read more about the the possible expansion of gambling on the Cherokee reservation and its impact, download the NCFPC's policy paper entitled Expanding Indian Gambling: Could Harrah's Casino Become N.C.'s Atlantic City? For more papers on the topic of gambling, click here.