Regulation

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake takes action on online gaming

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

A stop sign in Mohawk and English on Kahnawake Territory. Photo by Peter Van den Bossche

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake in Canada is taking action to address illegal internet gambling as part of an agreement with officials in New Jersey.

The council's regulatory body, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, issues licenses to entities that provide online gaming services. Starting October 1, those entities won't be allowed to accept players from any state in the U.S. unless it has been authorized by that state to do so.

The decision came after extended talks with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. According to the state, one of its licensees "may have provided services to certain illegal Internet gaming websites" through a data center on Kahnawake land.

That licensee -- identified by the state as Continent 8 -- is the same company that manages the Kahnawake data center, known as Mohawk Internet Technologies.

A 2015 investigation by The New York Times showed that Continent 8 was hosting at least one website considered illegal by the state of New Jersey, which regulates online gaming.

“The DGE understands and respects Kahnawà:ke’s significant accomplishments in the online gaming industry over the past 17 years— grounded on the exercise of Mohawk jurisdiction,” a Joseph Tokwiro Norton, the Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council, said in a press release. “We consider the strengthening of our working relationship with the DGE to be a positive development for our respective jurisdictions, and for the online gaming industry.”

"This agreement is an important step in ensuring the integrity of Internet gaming operations in New Jersey and helps ensure that online gaming patrons can play on fair, regulated sites," DGE Director David Rebuck added in a press release.