Licensing Jurisdiction
As previously mentioned, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission started licensing online casinos under the “Interactive Gaming Act” as early as 1999. Key figures in the first draft of the new online gambling regulations were Frank Catania, former Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, and Murray Marshall, General Counsel to the Commission. Together, their goal was to ensure that all gaming activities offered from within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake satisfied basic principles concerning responsible gambling and to provide a legal way for operators to conduct business. Therefore, all casino operators that want to apply for a license have to go through thorough rigorous background checks, provide a business plan, and host all of their servers locally.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission also licenses and regulates land-based gambling activities, such as electronic gaming devices (slots), raffles, and poker rooms. On 3 October 2007, three poker rooms were licensed by the commission. Since then, this number remained stable and no new local licenses in this sector have been added. New rules were introduced in 2011 concerning raffles and, in 2018, all electronic gaming devices have been fully regulated.
The Main Focus of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission mainly wants to create a lawful and regulated environment for online casinos that ultimately results in a safe gambling space for players in the territory and across the world. They have high standards when it comes to responsible gambling and fair gaming. Operators must provide their players with a number of tools that are meant to help them to control their gambling behavior, such as timeouts, limits, and self-exclusion.
All random number generators (RNGs) and games must be tested and certified before games can be offered online. Furthermore, there are strict standards for anti-money laundering that help to prevent financial crimes. Data protection is another important topic. Casino providers have to make sure that all customer information is stored securely and that it is handled in a strictly confidential manner. Of course, the KGC also seeks to protect minors from the dangers associated with online gambling. Therefore, there are mandatory KYC (Know Your Customer) checks in place so that the casinos are always aware of with whom they are doing business.
Security at Online Casinos Licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission
As previously mentioned, all online casinos licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission must host their sites and operational data on secure servers within the territory. On top of that, only reputable and trustworthy payment providers can be integrated on the casinos’ sites to ensure the highest standards when it comes to payment security. Moreover, every website must be protected by state-of-the-art SSL encryption to guarantee the safety of all transactions and customer information. They also offer a dispute resolution in case a player is treated unfairly by a casino operator. Every year the KGC is assisting hundreds of players and is taking action against licensees that do not uphold its high standards. This can include monetary fines or even the complete withdrawal of the gambling license.
