Kahnawake Reassures Online Poker and Online Gambling Licensees

Chuck Barnett, on the Board of Supervisors for Mohawk Internet Technologies (MIT) on behalf of the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, stressed to nervous online poker and online gambling licensees that their relationship with the Quebec provincial government remains good, despite last week's announcement that Golden Palace, a Kahnawake licensee, was ordered to pay a hefty two million dollar fine for running its business in the Canadian province (click here for related article).

Cyber World Group, operator of Golden Palace Casino, was fined for operating out of offices located in Montreal, following a police raid on those offices last year. The Golden Palace Casino website is licensed by and operates on servers located on Kahnawake First Nation territory.

"Actually, as these events have little, if anything to do with the Jurisdiction of the Mohawks of Kahnawake, it has not been an issue for us," Barnett said. "My understanding is that these offices (Golden Palace) were located well into the City of Ville St. Laurent, a borough of Montreal. And it was the offices of CyberWorld Group (CWG) that were raided. This entity is not licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission."

Kahnawake Territory is located just across the St. Lawrence River from Montreal, The tribal reserve houses the only real-money online gambling in North America.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission contends that it is exempt from the Canadian Criminal Code giving sole authority to issue gambling licenses to Canadian provinces. This claim is in terms of the native rights provisions enshrined in article 35 of the Constitution.

Canada's CBC reports that the Quebec provincial government has been investigating and building a case for more enforcement related to the online gambling activity on the Reservation since at least November 2003. Loto Quebec and Quebec's alcohol, racing and gaming board have long contended that Kahnawake's gaming operation is illegal. But the Mohawks argue that they are protected by traditional native rights.

To date Kahnawake has issued well over 400 online gambling licenses, representing about 60% of the world's online gaming business.

The legality of Kahnawake issuing licenses has not yet been contested in a courtroom. But this is the first time charges have been filed against a Kahnawake licensee, albeit for a reason not related to tribal licensing, making other licensees very uneasy that more aggressive charges may be forthcoming.

And the arrest and fine adds to the disappointment Kahnawake licensees experienced earlier this year when Kahnawake was rejected from the "White List" of online gaming jurisdictions approved to advertise in the UK market which became more competitive following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by the USA October 2006 (click here for related article).

"Kahnawake has a recognized policing agreement with the Quebec Minister of Security which was established in 1999 and incorporates a standard for policing protocols between the Kahnawake Police Force and those of the neighboring communities," Barnett said.

"The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has a very productive relationship with the Government of Quebec, and each regularly communicate and meet to discuss matters of mutual concern and interest. A number of examples may be found in the Ten Administrative Agreements entered into between Kahnawake and Quebec in 1999 which continue to be maintained and respected to this very day. Unfortunately, this does not make for very exciting or dramatic storytelling and is an item which seems to be "misplaced" at press time in some of the Quebec media."

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