Kahnawake Gaming Commision Review
By Alex Smith Mar 26, 2024
Casinomeister's Verdict
The KGC is one of the oldest and most experienced regulator in the online gaming industry. They were there in the early days of online gaming licensing mostly your standard Microgaming casino, some Playtech, and a number of poker rooms. This was in the early 2000s, and during this period they were a shambles.
They were non-communicative and were pretty much a black hole when it came to player complaints. For their aloofness, they were awarded Casinomeister’s “Sitting on one’s hands” award for 2007. It was like they were on autopilot. And then came the UltimateBet and Absolute Poker scandal. This was a serious wake up call, and from this point out they restructured themselves and started completely fresh.
So fresh in fact that within four years time they received the first Casinomeister Phoenix award – rising from the ashes – where I stated: “This year the Kahnawake Gaming Commission can truly be proud of how the KGC – once a mediocre ineffectual licensing jurisdiction – has become a true standard bearer of what a licensing jurisdiction should be: approachable, responsive and effective. A lot of hard grueling work has been put into turning the KGC around. The commission has a high profile at industry events, and they are now publishing their yearly dispute resolution results.”
And that’s it in a nut shell. They hired on one of the most experienced persons in the business to handle complaints (the ex-operator of the King Neptune’s casino). Micki is absolutely amazing and knows how to deal with both players and operators. They also have a panel of folks who are not only proactively dealing with player self-exclusion policies, but ensuring that their licensees are trained up on how to deal with any player complaint scenario.
The KGC is the only licensing jurisdiction that publishes annual reports on their player complaints. No other jurisdiction does this. Additionally, max and I meet up with their administration each year to discuss player issues and the industry as a whole. They have some excellent people working there and are by far the best licensing jurisdiction in operation.
By far the most qualified, experienced, player focused, and transparent.
Pros
Hands-on regulator who are unafraid to take action against licensees found to be breaching the terms of their license
Have been known to investigate individual player complaints
Hand out fines to companies found to be breaching their license conditions, increasing player-trust and ensuring operators are held accountable
One of the most qualified and experienced ADR in the business
Cons
Can take a while to investigate operators
The self-regulated nature means there’s little recourse if the commission find against you
Can be slow to respond to individual player complaints
Kahnawake Gaming Commission
Truly one of the best licensing jurisdictions.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was first-founded back in 1996, and it was formed as a result of the Canadian territory passing the ‘Kahnawake Gaming Law’. The commission’s power actually came into place in 1999 – and while the commission has had a few ups and downs since it’s formation, they are generally regarded as one of the world’s most trustworthy gambling regulators.
About The Kahnawake Gaming Commission
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is one of the more-interesting gambling regulators, due to the fact that the commission is actually self-formed; this is a result of the territory of Kahnawake’s protection by what are known as “Aboriginal Rights”.
Despite this self-regulation, the commission is known to side with players on a number of issues – and while the commission came under criticism for the way it handled the Ultimate Bet scandal (where the poker site’s management team were found to be using a ‘supercomputer’, which allowed them to see what cards other poker players held), the commission did take charge eventually, fining Ultimate Bet $1,500,000, and ordering the return of over $22,000,000 to players affected by the scandal.
Today, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission oversee a large number of licensees, and while the fees are quite high ($25,000 for an initial license application, along with a monthly fee, and a $5,000 cost per person added to a license), operators are keen to acquire a license from the commission, due to the prestige-like nature of a license.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is very player-focused, as shown from this mission statement on their website:
“The Commission’s primary function is to provide for the protection of players who choose to participate in the online gaming offered by the Commission’s permit holders. The Commission uses a variety of means to ensure that:
- Interactive gaming is conducted responsibly, fairly and honestly; and
- The operators of interactive games treat players fairly; that they pay winners promptly and that all information related to player accounts is held in the strictest confidence.
In addition, a variety of mechanisms are provided in the Commission’s Regulations concerning Interactive Gaming for the protection of persons under the full age of eighteen (18) years and for persons who are vulnerable to the risks that are associated with gaming. For example, the Regulations provide that:
- gaming sites must provide a mechanism by which a player has the ability to limit his or her play – including setting the limit to zero;
- a person who is close to a player (eg. family member) may apply to the Commission for an order prohibiting gaming sites from accepting bets or wagers from that player;
- the relationship between the operator, a gaming site and players must be contractual and must not contain terms that are unfair or unreasonable;
- gaming sites must take adequate measures to protect the confidentiality of player information; and
- rules of play must be clearly posted in English and any other such language as may be appropriate.”
Provisions Of a License
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is one of the more-interesting gambling regulators, due to the fact that the commission is actually self-formed; this is a result of the territory of Kahnawake’s protection by what are known as “Aboriginal Rights”.
Despite this self-regulation, the commission is known to side with players on a number of issues – and while the commission came under criticism for the way it handled the Ultimate Bet scandal (where the poker site’s management team were found to be using a ‘supercomputer’, which allowed them to see what cards other poker players held), the commission did take charge eventually, fining Ultimate Bet $1,500,000, and ordering the return of over $22,000,000 to players affected by the scandal.
Today, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission oversee a large number of licensees, and while the fees are quite high ($25,000 for an initial license application, along with a monthly fee, and a $5,000 cost per person added to a license), operators are keen to acquire a license from the commission, due to the prestige-like nature of a license.
Types of Online Gambling License Offered
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission offers four different types of online gaming licenses, and as we saw before, the process of applying for a Kahnawake online gaming license is pretty long-winded, expensive and thorough. This, of course, is good, as it means that most of the online gambling sites that hold a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission are reputable and legit. Below, we’re going to be taking a look at the four different types of license that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission issues – and what you can expect from each of these.
Interactive Gaming License
The interactive gaming license is the most common type of license that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission hands out, and for those looking to start an online gambling business – offering casino games, live dealer games, video slots or other forms of real-money gaming to players – the interactive gaming license is a necessity.
When an online gambling business has been issued this license by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission they will find themselves able to offer real-money internet gambling services to a wide variety of authorized client providers around the same location – and many online gambling companies will apply for an interactive gaming license in addition to one or more of the other licenses shown below.
Client Provider Authorization License
The Client Provider Authorization License is a slightly rarer type of license when compared to the interactive gaming license – although it’s still quite important for certain companies.
The Client Provider Authorization License allows an online gambling operator to carry out their operation from a co-location that’s owned and managed by the holder of an interactive gaming license; in essence, it’s a sub-license, although the commission is pretty strict on how these sub-licenses work and what the terms and conditions of the sub-licensees are.
Inter-Jurisdictional Authorization License
The Inter-Jurisdictional Authorization License is very similar to the previous license that we just looked at. However, as the name suggests, the Inter-Jurisdictional Authorization License allows online gambling businesses to operate within different jurisdictions alongside that regulated by the commission – and again, it’s a type of sub-license of the main interactive gaming license.
(Not all online gambling platforms that apply for a Inter-Jurisdictional Authorization License are awarded one – and it’s ultimately up to the holder of the interactive gaming license as to whether or not the license is awarded or not.
Key Person Permit
The Key Person Permit is a license that is awarded to someone working in Mohawk territory who’s expected to take on managerial or operational control of a company that holds one of the other license types shown above.
It’s basically like an enhanced background check to make sure that criminals and fraudsters are not easily able to enter the online gambling industry. Key Person Permit can be lengthy to obtain as the commission likes to carry out pretty in-depth checks.
Approved Third Parties
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is in close contact with a number of third-party bodies – usually testing houses – that they use to audit games and software that’s going to be used at online gambling websites licensed by the v.
At the time of writing, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has approved four different agents including eCOGRA, Gaming Associates, iTech Labs and Technical Systems Testing.
Self-Exclusion Scheme
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission also runs a self-exclusion scheme, much like we’ve seen from other online gambling regulators like the UKGC and the Belgian Gambling Commission, and this allows players to block themselves from all online gambling websites licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission within a relatively short period of time.
In order to enter into a self-exclusion scheme players simply need to fill out an online form found on the Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s website and submit it via email. The form allows you to choose how long you want to block yourself from online gambling for – and the options are 1 year, 5 years, or a lifetime ban – the latter, naturally, which blocks you from gambling at any Kahnawake Gaming Commission-licensed online casinos for life.
Once you’ve submitted the form and it’s been processed by the team over at the Kahnawake Gaming Commission you will immediately be blocked from playing at any online casino that holds online gambling licenses from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission – and this is a fantastic responsible gambling tools and it means you don’t have to worry about manually trying to enter into a self-exclusion agreement at every site you sign-up to.
An Interesting Background on the Kahnawake’s
The Kahnawake tribe, together with the Ahkwesasne and Kanehsatake (Oka) tribes, were one of three Mohawk tribes that resided along the St. Lawrence River in the early nineteenth century. The name Kahnawake translates as “of the rapids,” which refers to the fact that they resided at a bend of the river where the rapids were. Other Mohawk peoples referred to them as “People of the Eastern Door ” because their region was located on the easternmost portion of the Mohawk territories, which was known as the Kahnawake territory. They have historically defended the other tribes against invasion by the people who live in New England and the surrounding areas.
When the French conquered Canada, the French Crown granted the Jesuit Order possession of the region that belonged to the Kahnawake (1680). However, during the following nine decades, the Jesuits admitted white settlers into the region and collected rents from them despite their claims that they would not allow them to dwell on the land. Following the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763, the English ruler Thomas Gage granted the Mohawks ownership of the territory, which was then placed under the jurisdiction of the Indian Department.
Up to the 1880s, governmental agents are known to have engaged in property and rental manipulation, including the transfer of land to whites, among other things. A land concession agreement with the Canadian government was imposed on the tribe between 1880 and 1950 to allow railroad, telephone, and hydroelectric corporations to build infrastructure on their lands.
The tribe was left with only 13,000 acres of land as a result of this decision. It has been a goal of the Mohawk Nation since the 1950s to reclaim their territory and get recompense, either symbolically or monetarily, for their loss of sovereignty.
Their ability to exercise their sovereignty over the areas they do possess has improved over the previous couple of generations, which enables them to run web applications and permit land-based gambling firms, among other things.
It has been argued in court that the Kahnawake Tribe’s sovereignty dates back to at least 2007. The Mohawks have been victorious in every attempt to annex what is left of their territory. Those interested in reading a synopsis of the 2007 case before the Quebec Superior Court of Justice.
According to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s website, a phrase summarizing their history and encapsulating their attitude states: “The Mohawks of Kahnawake have continuously and traditionally exercised sovereignty and authority over their area.” They haven’t been beaten in combat, and they have never signed a contract with any authority that would allow them to relinquish or decrease their independence.”
In terms of the history – everything started in 1876 when the Indian Act was passed. This special law governs how the Canadian national government is legally able to interact with the 614 First Nations tribes – and the term ‘First Nations’ people simply means the indiginious people who lived in Canada prior to when the Europeans colonized the country.
Disputes and Complaints
Kahnawake’s Gaming Commission acts in much the same way as most other gambling regulators, in that – in the first instance – they don’t tend to deal with player complaints…
And if you find yourself having problems or issues with one of the casinos licensed by the commission, you are initially advised to go through the casino’s internal complaints department first.
If you find yourself unable to get anywhere going through the casino itself, you can submit a complaint to the commission – but take note; they will only investigate cases where it’s clear that you’ve already tried to resolve the problem through the casino, first.
It’s also worth pointing out that the time-frames it can take the commission to investigate can be quite lengthy, so don’t expect a quick reply – it can take anywhere from a few weeks, to a few months for them to investigate, dependant on the nature of your complaint, and the responsiveness of the casino involved.
FAQs
When was the Commission founded?
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was first-founded back in 1996, and it was formed as a result of the Canadian territory passing the ‘Kahnawake Gaming Law’. The commission’s power actually came into place in 1999 – and while the commission has had a few ups and downs since it’s formation, they are generally regarded as one of the world’s most trustworthy gambling regulators.
How much does it cost to apply for a license?
The amount of money that needs to be paid for a company to apply for a license from the commission varies depending on which type of license they’re applying for – but most online casinos will be applying for the interactive online gambling license, and this costs $25,000 to apply for. However, any key persons involved in the business (meaning anyone who has significant control, or who is involved with the operational running of the company) is required to hold a key person permit, and this costs $5,000 every year.
There’s also an annual fee which is payable directly to the commission, although the fee-structure for this is not made public.
How many online gambling websites are regulated by the Commission?
At the time of writing, according to the commission they license around 50 different online gambling operators. However, due to the fact that some of these 50 companies are able to sub-license other sites, the total number of online gaming websites licensed by the commission is actually closer to around 250.
What is the Interactive Gaming Licence?
The interactive gaming license is the most common type of license that the Commission hands out, and for those looking to start an online gambling business – offering casino games, live dealer games, video slots or other forms of real-money gaming to players – the interactive gaming license is a necessity.
When an online gambling business has been issued this license by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission they will find themselves able to offer real-money internet gambling services to a wide variety of authorized client providers around the same location – and many online gambling companies will apply for an interactive gaming license in addition to one or more of the other licenses shown below.
Where can I find good online casinos licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission?
If you’re looking for the best online casinos that hold al icense from the KGC then you’re in the right place – and here at Casiomeister our team of online gambling experts work tirelessly to review all online casinos that hold a license from the KGC. At the top of this page you’ll find a list of our highly-recommended sites.
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