Kahnawake Gaming Commission

What this authority does

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established in 1996 by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and was among the first bodies anywhere to regulate online gambling. Its model combined licensing with hosting: for many years licensed operators ran their systems from a data centre within the territory, which gave the commission direct technical oversight.

Its standing rests on an assertion of inherent jurisdiction rather than on a grant of authority from Canada, and the relationship between provincial law and gaming conducted in the territory has never been fully settled in court. In practice the commission has regulated continuously for close to three decades and operates a published complaints procedure for players, which was unusual when it began.

The commission has revised its rules in recent years, including a restructured licensing framework, and it remains in use by operators and suppliers that are not targeting markets with their own licensing requirements.

Licences it issues

• Client provider authorisation
• Interactive gaming licence
• Key person licence

What supervision concentrates on

• Licensing and hosting within the territory
• Dispute resolution for players
• Supervision of licensed service providers