Quebec Questions Kahnawake Gambling Licences

[The Judge]

CBC News
30 November 2007

Cyber World Group, the company behind GoldenPalace.com online casino, has been ordered to pay a fine of $2 million after pleading guilty to charges of illegal gambling. The case, if upheld, will call into question the right of Kahnawake to issue remote gambling licences.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s French language service, Radio Canada, the charges laid against the online casino are the first ever in Quebec, where hundreds of betting sites are hosted on servers managed by Mohawk Internet Technologie (MIT), a business created by the community's band council.

According to Criminal Code, only the provincial government is authorised to hand out gaming licences, which prompted Quebec police to raid the Montreal-area offices of Golden Palace.com more than a year ago as part of their investigation.

On the other hand, the Mohawk community has long argued that it has the right to provide space on its servers to house online casinos, under section 35 of Canada's Constitution, which protects traditional native rights.

“The Mohawk Gaming Commission has already handed out 443 permits without any problems,” said Joe Delaronde, a member of the Kahnawake band council. “These charges and fines are part of a wider jurisdictional battle between the Mohawk community and the provincial and federal governments,” he explained to CBC News.

"We don't ask for anything, we tell them that this is our right to do this. And we're doing it properly, we're administering it properly — the world seems to think that we're doing a good job, and we're confident we'll continue to do a good job."

The charges and fines could set a precedent for Mohawk-issued gaming licences, which have never been tested in a court of law.

GoldenPalace.com is currently licenced by the gaming board of Antigua & Barbuda, and the charges relate to the sites historical operations.

[BigdaddyQH]

And the beat goes on and on and on......

[d107]

nothing will change with Kahnawake gambling