Compact allows Class III gaming at Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs has
approved the Catawba Nation’s Tribal-State Compact with the State of North Carolina, allowing the
state to share in revenues generated by the new Two Kings Casino Resort.

The Catawba can now conduct Class III gaming, including operating slot machines and table games,
at the casino being developed at a site in the City of Kings Mountain in Cleveland County, about 45
minutes from downtown Charlotte.

The approval of the compact was communicated to Catawba Chief Bill Harris in a March 19 letter
from Darryl LaCounte, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and takes effect when the notice of
the approval is published in the Federal Register. A similar letter is also being sent to North Carolina
Gov. Roy Cooper, LaCounte’s letter noted.

“We completed our review of the Compact and conclude that it does not violate the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (IGRA), and any provision of the Federal law that does not relate to jurisdiction over
gaming on Indian lands, or the trust obligations of the United States to Indians,” LaCounte wrote.
“Therefore, pursuant to my delegated authority and Section 11 of IGRA, I approve the Compact.”

The Catawba Compact was approved by Gov. Cooper, as well as North Carolina Secretary of State
Elaine Marshall and Attorney General Josh Stein, in mid-January, and underwent a 45-day review by
the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“This is great news for the Catawba Nation, the State of North Carolina and the Kings Mountain
region, and I’d like to thank the Bureau of Indian Affairs for its work in reviewing our Compact,”
Harris said. “Our focus now is developing the casino to bring economic benefits and thousands of
jobs to the citizens of North Carolina.”

In March 2020, the U.S. Department of the Interior, following a thorough, years-long review, took
17 acres of land into trust status in Cleveland County, North Carolina, for the Catawba Nation. The
action recognized the Catawba Nation’s historical and ancestral ties to its aboriginal lands
throughout North Carolina, as evidenced by names such as Catawba County and Catawba College,
as well as in the six counties, including Cleveland County, specifically identified by Congress as part
of the Catawba’s service area. The compact with North Carolina acknowledges this connection to
North Carolina as well.

In addition to creating revenue for the State of North Carolina, the casino will help support an
education fund that will benefit environmental conservation, provide educational support for
members of federal and state-recognized tribes, support local communities on economic
development initiatives and foster employment opportunities on or near Catawba lands.