The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which oversees gaming within the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, a First Nations reserve within Quebec Canada, has come under some criticism for the way it operates.
The KGC was established by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake in 1996 and first issued regulations in 1999. Its initial purpose was to issue permits for casinos and poker rooms operating within the territory. As a sovereign First Nation has a high level of autonomy such that it issues its own passports, and has licensed about 50 gaming operators who operate 250 separate sites and casinos.
In 2009 the KGC’s handling of the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal aroused criticism. After an investigation by Tokwiro Enterprises of alleged cheating, the Kahnawake Gambling Commission levied sanctions in on the Ultimate Bet website. These included a $1.5 million fine and orders to return $22 million to players of its website.
The commission’s actions were considered draconian by some and made waves throughout the international gaming community. So seriously is this First Nation’s autonomy respected that the Quebec Superior Court refused to intervene in its gaming law.
In 2010 the KGC amended its rules requiring all gaming providers to be hosted by Mohawk Internet Technologies, which provides jobs to Kahnawake natives through Continent 8, which provides internet technology.
In recent months the commission has been in discussions with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. It has agreed to ban license holders that offer services in that state. One of those is Bovada Casino, which will be removed from Continent 8.
At the same time KGC does not allow casinos to operate that offer online wagers to U.S. players, despite America being the one of the largest gaming markets in the world.
This stance that prevents its casinos from playing in a larger world is adding toward the view by many that KGC is obsolete.
KGC’s viability is threatened by Bill 74, the Quebec government’s attempt to force internet service providers to block certain gaming sites that compete with the Quebec lottery. Although Bill 74 has been ruled unconstitutional by the Superior Court of Quebec, the government has appealed.
KGC claims Bill 74 will harm 8,000 of its citizens, harm the economy, and hurt its gaming operations and is cooperating with court challenges to it.
