March 9 - The Canadian federal government is reported to be targeting what it
sees as illegal gambling sites in the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal. Online gambling is
supposedly not legal in Canada, but the Mohawks of Kahnawake claim that their
sovereignty excludes them from any Canadian laws.
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Kahnawake is believed to license some 400 online casino, poker and sports betting
websites. This includes some of the largest offshore gambling sites. In fact. it
is considered to be the third largest gambling licensing jurisdiction in the
world.
The Canadian government started to show its hand when it fined the owners of
Golden Palace online casino for illegally operating a gambling site on Canadian
soil. Rumors of further action have been rife since.
It is believed that the fine was part of a wider jurisdictional battle between the Mohawk community and the
Canadian provincial and
federal governments.
The heat was turned up this February when a senior senator, Roy Cullen claimed
in the house of commons that "Canadians are being victimized by illegal Internet
gambling operations". He did not appear to produce any evidence, but also
claimed that illegal online gambling industries are hurting legitimate gaming
industries such as horse racing and that it was putting Canadian people out of
work.
It's always interesting to see politicians play the moral higher ground, but when the
real facts come to the fore it's clearly all about protectionism. How predictable.
Apparently the Canadian Minister of Justice, Rob Nicholson, has ordered
officials in his department to look into ways in
which they might assist with the enforcement of the Criminal Code.
Apparently part of the investigation will involve the possibility of restricting
banks and credit card companies from allowing online gambling transactions, as
has been done in the USA.
Needless to say, the Mohawks of Kahnawake continue to
insist such laws would not apply to them, and point to their sovereignty in
terms of the Canadian constitution.
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