Kahnawake Gaming Commission

The Commission was formed in the year 1996 under the Kahnawake Gaming Law mandate. Three years later, in 1999, it took over the regulation of all interactive games that originate from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Southern Quebec. 

Objectives of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission

Kahnawake Gaming Commission acts as a primary regulator and mediator in the domain of online gaming to ensure the following:

• All the gaming platform providers operating under its jurisdiction are fair, trustworthy and responsible
• None of their gaming sites is indulging in any form of organized criminal activities
• Gambling activity is strictly prohibited for anyone below 18 years of age, and the gaming operators are practicing strict age verification procedures.
• All the gaming-based programs originating from or within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake are abiding by the commission's law and policies
• The commission ensures strict maintenance of a fair interactive gaming environment, clearance of winning amounts in an honest and timely manner, right to information for new players, and confidentiality regarding the account details of those playing with the gaming operators regulated by the commission.

Compliance Requirements

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission offers a wide range of lucrative packages that include 0% tax rates, large scale infrastructure, and manpower added with greater bandwidth and multiple stages of an enhanced security system. Many bodies have been appointed to keep a check on the code of conduct of their license holders.

The online gaming companies and casinos that are associated with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission must host their programs through Mohawk Internet Technologies and thus are under the direct and total supervision of Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Mohawk Internet Technologies offers its platforms to over 50 clients who are operating approximately 250 online gaming websites at present. 

Other licenses used by online casinos

Application Requirements

Kahnawake Gaming Commission issues permit to online gaming service operators and are known as Client Provider Authorizations (CPA). An initial application fee for Client Provider Authorisation costs around US$ 25,000 or € 22,000.

Apart from this, each Key Person Licence is charged around US$ 5,000 or € 4400 and in cases where the application is not granted, both amounts are refunded by the Commission.

Conclusion

The Commission maintains healthy relationships with other major regulatory and licensing bodies. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission signed MOUs with Antigua and Barbuda, Malta, and Alderney in 2005, 2006, and 2010 respectively. Similar agreements were signed with the Ontario based Six Nations Gambling Commission and California’s Santa Ysabel Tribe.

The Commission still stands tall as the largest grey-market gaming jurisdiction despite a few disputes and scandals in the past which partially bruised its name and fame in the world of online gambling.