Kahnawake Gaming Commission

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is a gambling regulatory that issues licenses and oversees a large number of online casinos, poker rooms and sports betting websites. The commission also regulate three land-based poker rooms which are located in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake.

The commission is generally regarded as a reputable and trustworthy operator, and they regularly assert their power over operators who break the conditions of their licenses.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission came into the spotlight back in 2009, when it rules against Ultimate Bet Poker, in what would become one of the most notorious cheating scams in gambling history.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at what the Kahnawake Gaming Commission do, what conditions they impose on license holders, and we’ll also have a look at the complaints procedure implemented by the commission.

About The Kahnawake Gaming Commission

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was founded in 1996 after the Kahnawake Gaming Law was enacted by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. For the first few years, the commission regulated land-based gambling. Once online gambling began growing in popularity, the commission extended their regulatory activities to include online gambling. This was achieved when the commission passed its Regulations concerning Interactive Gaming Act.

Since this Act was brought in, the commission has successfully regulated all forms of online gambling, and they are known for taking a ‘no-BS’ approach to licensing.

Along with issuing licenses to online gambling operators, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission also regulate their day-to-day activities, enduring that licensees are adhering to the terms and conditions dicated in their license agreement. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has a number of responsibilities, including:

Ensuring that all online gambling which takes place under its jurisdiction is fair, responsible, and honest;
Ensuring that operators holding a license run their business in a way that’s free from organized crime;
Ensuring that no online gambling website accepts players under the age of 18 from joining their site;
Ensuring all operators licensed through them treat players fairly, pay winnings in a timely manner, and ensure player’s details are kept secure and confidential.

The licenses which the commission issues, are known as Client Provider Authorizations (CPA’s), and these cost in the region of $25,000 each. All operators also require a Key Person License. Each key member of a gambling business must have one of these licenses, and they cost around $5,000 each. To date, the commission has issued over 50 online gambling licenses, and at the time of writing, there are over 250 online gambling websites operating under these licenses.

License Requirements

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission places a number of responsibilities to its licensees. For example, all operators who hold one of their licenses must host their online gambling business at Mohawk Internet Territories. This is a commission-approved tech firm that’s managed by Continent 8 – a well-known technology firm and disaster recovery company based in the Isle of Man.

Operators must also block players from certain territories from playing at their websites – in particular, players from the US.

All aspects of online gambling sites are regulated by the commission, and operators must receive approval for the most miniscule of details, including opening a Live Dealer Studio. All games must be independently verified by 3rd-party testing houses, and this is to ensure the games play fairly.

Like most regulators, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission also require operators to offer customers a wide variety of responsible gambling measures. The most notable of these, is a self-exclusion policy. This should allow players to easily and quickly block themselves from playing at the operator’s sites, should they feel as though their gambling is getting out of control.

Top Kahnawake Gaming Commission Licensed Casinos

Some of the world’s top online casinos have licenses from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, and you can see some of the top-rates sites below:

How To Check If a License is Valid

Like all reputable regulators, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission maintain an up-to-date list of licensees on their website. This list has been put together by the commission, and it verifies both operators and website URLs, so that you know you’re playing at a site that’s actually licensed.

You can view the Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s list of licensees here.

Site’s licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission must also display the commission’s logo. Each logo should link to a licensing certificate, which is another way of verifying a site’s license.

Complaints Procedure

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission are happy to take player complaints, and they’re one of the most transparent regulators, when it comes to publicizing the results of their complaints investigations.

If you wish to submit a complaint, you should, in the first instance, try to resolve it with the casino in question directly. If this doesn’t resolve your complaint, you can contact the commission directly, and this should be done in writing. The easiest way to submit a complaint is through email, and the commission’s complaint email is: [email protected]