Ottawa may go after Kahnawake Internet gambling sites

[The Buzz]

This is big news.

Ottawa is considering ways to "stamp out" Internet gambling sites based in the Kahnawake First Nations reserve near Montreal.

According to online.casinocity.com, there are 327 online casinos based in the Kahnawake jurisdiction.

"Following recent concerns surrounding Internet gambling in Canada, the Minister of Justice [Rob Nicholson] has asked his officials to examine whether the enforcement of the Criminal Code provisions could be assisted with other measures," said Genevieve Breton, Mr. Nicholson's director of communications.

The "other measures" are understood to be moves to restrict banks and credit card companies from conducting financial transactions with illegal Internet operators. Similar legislation was enacted in the United States two years ago.

The Mohawks of Kahnawake say these laws do not apply to them since they are a sovereign nation. They also cite section 35 of the Constitution, which was inserted to protect native culture. The Mohawks say that gaming has been central to their culture as a means of settling disputes through competition, not violence. Other native groups, such as the Alexander First Nation in Alberta, have said they plan to emulate Kahnawake.

There's plenty more to this story, with gambling companies that are sanctioned by the government upset about the Kahnawake Internet gambling companies "poaching" their business, and the Kahnawake claiming soverign rights to do as they please.

Read the rest here ... http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=352670.

[thepokerkeep]

Based on past experience... this will be a long and bloody battle.

Ottawa has never had much luck controlling our First Nations. They tend to cave rather than endure the bad press these fights tend to attract.

My money's on the Mohawks.

[thisisvegas]

I don't think it is a battle that the Canadian government will win and should Canada try to stamp out business I would expect legal repurcussions of it. I just hope Canada doesn't shoot itself in the foot.

John

[Tony]

Well horseracing was big here for years, so now they are loosing income. At Woodbine Entertainment they also have slot machines and all the off truck betting allover the place, my guess is gamblers like to stay home, so then why don’t they make gambling web sites too, either they like it or not internet is here to stay

[pgaming]

Based on past experience... this will be a long and bloody battle.

Ottawa has never had much luck controlling our First Nations. They tend to cave rather than endure the bad press these fights tend to attract.

My money's on the Mohawks.

Must agree Pokerkeep, considering the Supreme Court of Canada and the U.N to some extent recognize the Kahnawake First Nations as being Sovereign.

greek39

[The Buzz]

Casino City's Gary Trask wrote a story about this yesterday ...

Expert: Canada not likely to ban online gaming

[pgaming]

Good article, I can certainly see something positive coming however this plays out.

greek39

[CCJ]

I'm not sure if there is any relevance but CBC television advertises PartyPoker.net during Hockey Night in Canada. Now I know you'll say its PartyPoker.net but when the announcer says "Party Poker 3 Stars are...", they do not use the word ".net". Saying that, is CBC television in Canada not government operated? I seen this watching a Toronto game on December 10/07. I also seen the same for UltimateBet.net on February 9/08 on CBC.

[CarlR]

This is the welcome sign at the entrance of the Mohawk Reserve.
The smaller sign you see a bit further offers no-tax cigarettes to anybody.

SQ = Provincial Police
RCMP = Federal Police

[pgaming]

This is the welcome sign at the entrance of the Mohawk Reserve.
The smaller sign you see a bit further offers no-tax cigarettes to anybody.

SQ = Provincial Police
RCMP = Federal Police

Good one! this pretty much sums things up. Rumor has it they actually shot down a U.S Coast Guard Helicopter. I ran across the article a few years back.

The Mohawks allowed the authorities a two-hour visit on their land here near Miner Lake, a dozen miles from Canada, from which someone had fired gunshots on March 30, forcing down a medical helicopter from the Vermont National Guard and wounding a doctor on board. source http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...57C0A966958260

Also consider the Aboriginals in Canada and the U.S for the most part do not recognize our boarders. The refer to all of North America as Turtle Mountain.

The Canadian Government has made it quite clear they want the Aboriginals to prosper. For this reason plus others the Mohawks will not be silenced.

greek39