A report from a Senate committee says the Catawba Indian Nation has the right to operate video poker and suggests the state General Assembly may have violated the state's contract with the tribe.

S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster said Monday that if the Catawbas were to take their case to federal court, it could lead to the return of video poker in South Carolina, at least on tribal land.

The Senate Judiciary Committee opinion, requested by Orangeburg Sen. Brad Hutto, says the state is constitutionally barred from changing the conditions of its 1993 agreement with the Catawbas. That agreement allows the Catawbas to operate two bingo halls in the state. Even though video poker was outlawed in 1999, the Judiciary report says the contract is subject to the state's laws at the time of the agreement.

Hutto said he will use the opinion in this year's legislative session, which begins today, in an attempt to reach a settlement between the two parties -- a settlement he hopes results in a new high-stakes bingo hall off Interstate 95.

"This is about jobs in Orangeburg County and improving the economic situation of a lot of people," Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said. "We feel strongly about this and wanted to get another opinion on this in hopes of resolving the issue."

The Catawbas, who operate a bingo hall in Rock Hill, want to open a higher-stakes, computerized bingo hall off I-95 in Santee. To do so, the tribe needs to fall under provisions of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Gov. Mark Sanford and a handful of lawmakers from other parts of the state have blocked the deal because of the federal act. Conceivably, they say, the tribe could get into the casino business if it is covered under provisions of the Indian gaming act.

Attorneys for the tribe contend that even under the act, the Catawbas could not open a casino without state approval.

The 1993 settlement between the Catawbas and the state repaid the Indians for land the state took from them in 1840. It also gave the tribe the right to operate two bingo halls.

The Catawbas say South Carolina has reneged on its promise to give them the best game in town by enacting a lottery. As a result, the tribe says it is losing hundreds of thousands of gambling dollars a year. If the state continues to block their efforts to put a bingo hall in Santee, they say they will be forced to bring back video poker.

Catawba Chief Gilbert Blue said the tribe will not exercise its right to video poker if the state would just back off its opposition to a new bingo hall.

"The opinion of the committee is just like the South Carolina Policy Council's opinion," Blue said. "These opinions are just like every lawyer's opinion since the settlement agreement. They say that Catawba Indian Nation has the right to video poker in York County on the Reservation. But the Nation wants to go with electronic bingo at Santee -- where the community wants us. We don't want to go with video poker in York County, unless we have to."

McMaster said he has not seen the Judiciary Committee report and has not yet looked at the issue. He said he could not comment on the Judiciary report because he may get called into the case at some point. But, he suggested that if the tribe plays hardball in federal courts, it could throw open the door to video poker.

"My concern is the possibility of the return of video poker," McMaster said. "If the Catawbas were to prevail in court, it could be very dangerous to South Carolina."

The governor has said the General Assembly may need to get involved in this issue.

"The governor's position has not changed," said Sanford spokesman Chris Drummond. "If the Catawbas want to make changes to the 1993 agreement, they have to go through the Legislature."

Contact Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com.