Whoever asked about Kahnawake and Sports Interaction Click the Link Below

[Hartley]

My article

Should explain the situation pretty well.

[TinCup]

So sportsbooks can set up shop and not have to worry about the U.S. coming after them. If one opens up do they have to hire the local indian help, like is the case in other countries.

[steve42]

Thanks for the info. Interesting article.

[Dot Mix]

Hartley

Excellent article and thank you.

Dot

[reno]

Hartley, excellent job! Very thorough and informative. It will be interesting to see if some big-time sportbooks start working through the reserve.

[Hartley]

Apparently the reserve is getting applications all the time.

I think some are still a little unconvinced that the Canadian government will do nothing about it, but from what I've heard at the conference and in question periods - the Canadian gov't has no intentions of intervening - just so long as they don't set up an actual land based casino.

[arizona8]

Hartley,

Excellent article, but there is a reason they only have one sportsbook so far.

They are going to be shut down in late August. DOJ is already working on plans, and proximity is way to close. As well as the relations between Canadian Govt. and U.S., no matter what the Native Americans say. Phone lines will be cut, servers, etc.

Great idea, but location is to easy for U.S. to stop. Especially in an election year where they want that type of news (look at college gaming bill).

Neverless good article, enjoyed reading more about them. And I do wish them success, but would be willing to go a dime at even money with you they don't make it to Nov. 1st. B-world can hold the funds.

take care

[MarkA]

Arizona - what's your source? Are you saying SIA is done then?

[Hartley]

Arizona that's not what I've heard. As I stated in the article the DOJ has no jurisdiction over Canada. How can they cut lines to a foreign body? And the Canadian gov't right now doesn't have any plans. Besides that they have their own problems with the Natives on their side of the St. Lawrence.

For anyone who wants to discuss this with someone there, go to "www.mohawk.ca" and you can call their number.

Also the e-mail address for the p.r. person there is "mike@mohawk.ca".

I hope you're wrong.

[Hartley]

FWIW, here was an article that appeared in the Ottawa Citizen last fall. And from what I hear there are a lot more applications. Plus the Mohawk's lawyer seemed even more vigilante.
_____

Mohawks declare 'offshore' status

Kahnawake reserve says it will license online
gambling, stock trading

Mark Stevenson
The Ottawa Citizen

A native reserve is about to license the first Internet
gambling operation on North American soil, a move
its leaders say will help it assert its autonomy and
compete with offshore tax shelters where most
online gaming firms now locate.

Canada has one of the largest concentrations of
publicly traded Internet betting companies in the
world. But the overwhelming majority of them
conduct their transactions through computer servers
based elsewhere, at tax havens in the Caribbean
and Central America, for fear of prosecution in
North America.

Now, the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation, located 30
kilometres south of Montreal, is offering low fees,
"state of the art bandwidth," and the legal protection
of a "sovereign nation" in a bid to tap the explosive
growth of Internet gambling companies, said Chief
Davis Rice.

He heads Mohawk Internet Technologies, which now employs 31 people as
part of a $3-million investment by the reserve.

The Mohawks say they will defend their right to host Internet gamblers,
despite the current legal limbo surrounding the issue. They are also planning
an online stock market, with low brokerage fees and investments not
allowed at traditional North American stock markets, as part of their bid to
be a major "offshore banking (site) on the shores of the St. Lawrence."

"Anything that the Mohawks do is somewhat controversial," said Mr. Rice.
"(But) we're prepared to defend this. And judging from the reaction ... this is
a win-win combination."

Mr. Rice said the band has already signed up a major online gaming firm and
40 others have expressed serious interest since it declared itself open for
business earlier this month at the World Gaming Congress and Expo in Las
Vegas.

Mohawk Internet Technologies, which plans to begin operations next month,
intends to make its money by charging the gaming firms fees for the use of its
services.

Liberal MP Dennis Mills, who introduced an ill-fated private member's bill to
allow the federal government to regulate the industry and stop revenues from
being lost offshore while protecting consumers, welcomes the move by the
Mohawks to license online gaming. He said it could persuade high-tech
Canadian gaming firms to locate in Canada instead of offshore.

"I think it's fantastic," said Mr. Mills. "They're filling a huge vacuum. Reserve
status has certain rights and privileges that we sometimes forget. ... It could
be a huge breakthrough for Internet gaming."

But the enterprise is on uncertain legal ground.

Under Canadian law, only the provinces and some charities can run gambling
operations, although none of them are currently online. The provinces could
run their own computer-based betting if they wanted to, but neither they nor
the federal government can authorize anyone else to do so, said Hal Pruden,
legal counsel for the federal Justice Department.

Mr. Pruden said in two separate cases before the Supreme Court, aboriginal
groups have been denied the right to run large-scale gambling operations on
native soil without government approval. Neither of the cases, however,
dealt with online gaming.

Even if Internet gambling operations are run offshore, it may be illegal in
Canada to place a bet or offer betting to Canadians. The issue is not settled
because no one has tested it.

So the legality of the move by the Kahnawake Mohawks is unclear.

"I can't comment on whether it's legal or not," said Mr. Pruden. "Applying
the Criminal Code to see whether it's legal or not would be up to the band's
lawyers or up to the Attorney General of Quebec."

The Mohawks have already informed the province of their intentions and
plan to be up and running by mid-October, said Mr. Rice.

In the United States, Louisiana, Nevada and Illinois have banned Internet
betting and Congress is considering doing the same, said Sue Sneider of the
Interactive Gaming Council, a international trade group representing 75
online gambling firms. This means gamblers caught betting online in those
states can be charged.

By most estimates, Canada has one of the largest concentrations of publicly
traded Internet gambling companies in the world. Companies like
CryptoLogic, a Toronto firm that has become the largest supplier of casino
games and electronic commerce software to online casinos, dominate the
industry.

However, because of the legal limbo surrounding their existence, places like
Gibraltar, Antigua, St. Kitts, Dominica and Costa Rica are aggressively
luring Canadian companies with licences to operate, low taxes and
anonymity.

Ms. Sneider, of the Interactive Gaming Council, said the booming Internet
gaming industry now has about 700 Internet sites run by 200 operators

[arizona8]

I hope I am wrong too, but no matter how much they claim sovereignty, or that they are not under U.S. jurisdiction. That isn't worth anything, first of all look who's saying it, the people with a say in the business.

Second, just look at the U.S. involvement in other situations. You think they are going to allow this with a neighboring 1st world country.

I am not saying anything about any book associated with them, just re-iterate my wager with Hartley that they will be shut down (the operation not book) by November 1st.

[Bette Midler]

Arizona8....

Just "WHO" are you suggesting is going to shut these folks down, the US govt? That would require an incursion across a sovereign border, I believe. The Canadien govt at the behest of the US? I'm not certain but I believe Canada's penchant for bowing to US demands in trade & foreign policy matters is mixed (otherwise, I would have to travel to Cuba for my cigars, rather than to Windsor, Ont).

Like Hartley indicates, the Canadien govt seems less than enthused about doing much. Perhaps this is because the long term economic development of the reserve as a technology center, where the Mohawks will receive high tech training, is better served than the prospect of building a casino and having the tribe dealing blackjack and serving drinks.

Just some food for thought.

[IBTom]

Whos being shut down? SIA? I skimed the thread and article cuz its late. I have a large sum in SIA. Should I be concerned.

[phaedrus]

The books on the Kahnawake Mohawk reservation are here to stay, they aren't going anywhere. Matter of fact i heard that Bossmedia is moving their servers onto Mohawk land as well as a few other big players.

The US HAS ABSOLUTELY NO jurisdiction in this instance, matter of fact it can be argued that the Canadian Gov't doesn't have any either. The Mohawks have their own police department and laws, there are no Canadian taxes on Mohawk land, and basically they are sovereign.

That being said, the Canadian Government as well as the Quebec provincial government has taken a proactive approach with the mohawks in administering and "watching" over this area of business.

[MarkA]

Arizona - I ask again, what's your source for all of this? Or, are you just stating a hunch as though you actually do have some sort of authoritative inside knowledge?