Kahnawake

Overview

The Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake is a sovereign jurisdiction located near Montreal, Quebec, and is a reserve of the traditionally Iroquoian-speaking Mohawk nation. Kahnawake was one of the first jurisdictions in the world to recognise the opportunities afforded by the interactive gaming industry and the commission has been continuously licensing and regulating a wide range of interactive gaming sites since 1999.

Online gaming operators that are licensed by the commission must be hosted at Mohawk Internet Technologies, a data centre located within Kahnawake and managed by Continent 8 Technologies.

The Kahnawake gaming law empowers the commission to enact such regulations as are necessary to fulfill its mandate as the gaming regulator for Kahnawake. Presently, the commission licenses and regulates both interactive gaming and terrestrial poker rooms that are located within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. Pursuant to its regulations concerning interactive gaming (amended January 23, 2013), the commission licenses and regulates various types of interactive gaming, including casino, poker and sportsbook.

Pursuant to its regulations concerning poker rooms (amended January 9, 2013), the commission licenses and regulates territorial poker rooms that are located within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake.

Licences

Currently two basic categories of licenses:

Client provider authorisation (CPA):
Permits an operator to conduct any number of online gaming activities – including casino games, poker and sportsbook – from the hosting facility in Kahnawake.

Application fee for a CPA is US$40,000 which includes an application for a key person licence, first year’s annual licensing fee and initial review of the applicant’s control system.

Annual licensing fee for a CPA is US$10000 which includes one key person.

Inter-jurisdictional authorisation (IJA):
Entitles an operator to host some or all of its equipment at Kahnawake’s hosting provider (Mohawk Internet Technologies) when an operator holds its primary licence in another jurisdiction. The commission does not require a control system submission or key person licence – as it is the responsibility of the primary jurisdiction to conduct full due diligence and to regulate the operator on an ongoing basis.

Application fee for an IJA is US$12000 which includes the first year’s annual licensing fee.

Annual licensing fee for an IJA is US$2000.

Services

The Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake has 14 years of experience in licensing, regulating and servicing the online gaming industry.

A progressive regulatory regime that balances player protection with needs of the industry, offering a state-of-the-art hosting and data centre facility.