The Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake is a sovereign jurisdiction located 32 km south of Montreal, Quebec on the shores of the St Lawrence River in Canada. It’s an Indian reserve that’s about 48.05 square kilometers with a population of around 8,000 inhabitants, Kahnawake is one of several territories that form what is known as the Mohawk Nation.

The territory is steeped in old Native American tradition and the name ‘Kahnawake’ comes from the Mohawk language, its literal meaning being ‘place of the rapids’. When the gambling industry went online, Kahnawake was one of the first regions in the world to recognize the potential that the industry had. Subsequently, it became one of the earliest gambling jurisdictions in the world and is today home to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established in 1996 and has been continuously licensing and regulating online and land-based gaming within Kahnawake since that time.

On July 8, 1999, the Gaming Commission enacted its “Regulations concerning Interactive Gaming”. Since that time, any operator wanting to be licensed by the commission must host their gaming portal at a data center called Mohawk Internet Technologies on the reservation. The data center is managed by “Continent 8 Technologies”.

Currently, they provide licenses for around 50 online gaming operators, covering some 250+ online gambling sites that include online casinos, online poker rooms, and sports betting websites.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission offers licenses to and regulates the gaming activities of brick-and-mortar poker rooms, land-based non-profit charity raffles, and interactive gambling activities conducted within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. Remember that the tribe insists that licensees host their websites on Mohawk Territory servers, so their regulatory authority includes all license holders.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was first set up on June 10th, 1996. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is one of the most important online gambling license bodies in the world. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has stringent provisions that the applicant has to adhere to for it to be granted a license to operate as an online gambling provider.

They probably provide licensing and oversight for more online casinos than any other governmental agency. The gaming commission requires that companies operating under its authority host their gaming Websites at Mohawk Internet Technologies, which is a Web hosting company established in 1998. Because MIT’s data center is located on the native reserve the gaming commission has the physical capacity for inspection and intervention.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission also enjoys strong bonds with other gambling jurisdictions. Over the years, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has been working together with other regulatory bodies as well to make online gambling smoother and easier for players. It entered a Memoranda of Understanding with Antigua and Barbuda in 2005, with Malta in 2006, and with Alderney in 2010.

The Kahnawake has similar agreements with the Six Nations Gambling Commission in neighboring Ontario and the Santa Ysabel Tribe in California. In September 2016, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement announced that it had reached an understanding with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission wherein the KGC would no longer provide licenses to gambling operators who accept customers from the United States of America.

National Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, Unusual Transactions Act, Counter-Terrorism Financing Regulations and Know Your Customer Policies are applicable to all Kahnawake Gambling Companies. As part of its duties, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission monitors gaming businesses and services to ensure that they operate according to the standards and regulations of the Government of Kahnawake. Compliance audits are conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the terms of the license are met.

Licensees must maintain a complete audit trail for each player making a deposit with an operator, including financial transactions and individual bets. Gaming systems, including back-end software logs, must be made available to third-party auditors. Gaming rules, results of the game, and pay-outs are to be made available to Kahnawake Gaming Commission for five years.

Let’s talk more about the benefits by understanding the reasons why obtaining a Kahnawake igaming license may be ideal for you.

When starting a Kahnawake Online Gambling Business, first of all, it’s important to think about one of the most essential procedures, that is company registration and acquisition of the license. Kahnawake Gambling License gives many excellent opportunities to each licensee and makes their business profitable.

Licensed Gambling companies in Kahnawake may qualify for tax-exempt status, meaning they do not have to pay any income tax. There is no VAT or other Sales Tax applicable on Kahnawake, there is also no tax or other duties payable on gambling operations. Kahnawake has political stability, first-rate telecommunications facilities, and a well-established financial services industry.

In addition, it maintains an attractive environment for international online gaming companies. Kahnawake Gambling License is recognized by many countries all over the world, so you will have a large potential customer base after getting it.

In order to obtain a Kahnawake Gambling License, the decision to approve the application is at the discretion of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, based on the documentation submitted by our experts. The Kahnawake issues one Online Gambling license which covers all gaming operations, igaming service providers, network operators, affiliates, white-label operators, and igaming software suppliers.

With this Kahnawake Gambling License, online gaming companies can operate legally. Each applicant undergoes a thorough assessment, ensuring that licenses are only awarded to those applicants who are able to demonstrate such a financial standing and integrity as to preserve the international reputation of Kahnawake as an online gambling hub.

In case something does not correspond to requirements, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission will provide a checklist of necessary improvements. A Kahnawake Gambling License covers all forms of online gambling including Casino, eSports, Poker, Sports Betting, Lotto, Bingo, Horseracing, Bitcoin Casino, Fantasy Sports, Games of Skill, and other gaming-related activities without being required to obtain one license for each individual product.

• Residence in Kahnawake. Operators wishing to offer their services to Kahnawake gamblers must be residents of Kahnawake and they must obtain the relevant licenses and authorizations from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. In case the company is a foreign entity, it must appoint a local director, whose domicile is in Kahnawake, to deal with the competent authorities in the country and have the power to conclude contracts on its behalf
• Opening of a bank account with one of the banks in Kawhnawake where the operator would need to deposit the players’ money. Licensed remote gaming operators will only be allowed to make payments to players through the payment processors that have been approved by the KGC
• Requirements regarding the minimum share capital of the company depending on the type of game it offers
• A monthly declaration giving details regarding income from games of change as well as the fees due will have to be submitted to the KGC on a standard form
• Compliance with the principles regarding the protection of minors as well as with the content of the promotional material used and the locations where they can be displayed