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Federal recognition has already changed the position of the Lumbee Tribe. Now it could change the casino map of North Carolina and add fresh pressure on South Carolina.
Good to Know
A casino vote has not happened yet, but the Lumbee are already acting like gaming is a real path. Days before Congress passed the defense bill that delivered full federal recognition, Lumbee Holdings bought a large land parcel along Interstate 95 in Robeson County. More land followed on the day of the Senate vote. Together, the deals covered about 240 acres near the South Carolina border for around $6.8 million.
That timing matters because federal recognition opened doors the tribe had been denied for generations. It unlocked access to federal programs, healthcare, housing support, and Bureau of Indian Affairs resources. It also gave the tribe the legal ability to pursue casino gaming.
Last week, the Lumbee Tribal Council approved a resolution to place a constitutional amendment before tribal members on whether to allow gaming on tribal land. All enrolled members of the tribe, about 60,000 people, will be eligible to vote. Chairman John Lowery has let the membership process lead publicly, but his position is not hard to read. He said:
“I’ve seen the economic powerhouse that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has become in the western part of the state,” he said, “and the transformative growth of our brothers and sisters, the Catawba.”
Location is a huge part of the appeal. North Carolina now has three casinos, all in the western part of the state. A Lumbee casino would be the first in the east and would sit near one of the busiest travel corridors in the country. Along I 95, between New Jersey and Florida, there is no major gaming stop of that scale. That gap has real commercial value.
The case for development is not just about traffic. Robeson, Scotland, Hoke, and Cumberland counties have dealt with weak economic conditions, population decline, and long recovery periods after hurricane damage in 2016 and 2018. Lowery has said a casino project could create up to 3,000 permanent jobs. If the vote passes and federal trust approval follows, one of the poorest areas in the state could land a major employer and tourism draw.
The pressure may hit South Carolina even harder than North Carolina. South Carolina still has no legal casino gaming and no legal sports betting. That stance has held for years under a conservative legislature, a governor openly against gambling, and continued religious opposition. Even so, the cost of doing nothing is getting harder to miss.
The Catawba Nation already had to leave South Carolina behind and build in North Carolina after years of resistance at home. Their Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain is already pulling South Carolina players across the border. A Lumbee casino near Lumberton would add another cross border draw, closer to the South Carolina line and planted directly on I 95.
South Carolina lawmakers have discussed a bipartisan casino bill tied to an I 95 site near Santee in Orangeburg County, but it has stalled. Governor Henry McMaster has refused to back it, and opposition remains active at the Statehouse. At the same time, Catawba Chief Brian Harris has argued that any South Carolina casino discussion should include the Catawba because of their long history with the state and their gaming investment in the region.
For now, the only vote that counts belongs to Lumbee members. Still, the land buys, the speed of the council action, and the federal recognition win all point in one direction. A Lumbee casino is no longer a distant theory. It is a live regional gaming story with consequences well beyond tribal land.