Canada - Home Of Online Gambling
Published: Thursday, November 02, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
CANADA - HOME OF ONLINE GAMBLING
Hundreds of brands are licensed in Kahnawake, but here's some First Nation competition
Ontario politicians may be trying to pass legislation banning online gambling adverts in the province, but elsewhere in Canada there's a more welcoming attitude to the industry.
The Kahnawake First Nation Mohawks in Quebec province, home to well over 300 online gambling brands and host to a multitude of company servers will soon have competition from The Alexander First Nation.
Announcing the formation of an online gambling commission this week, a spokesman for the Alexander First Nation said it intends to regulate companies that are granted licenses to operate under the tribe's sovereignty.
A spokesperson for the new commission said it plans to offer online gaming licenses to suitably qualified applicants. The commission is confident that the regulations will ensure a safe, high-quality environment for Internet gamblers.
The Alexander Gaming Commission's mission will be to regulate and control gaming and other gaming related activities within and from the Alexander First Nation. All interactive gaming such as online casinos and online poker sites, will have to satisfy three basic principles to obtain a license to operate:
* Only suitable persons and entities are permitted to operate within Alexander
* Games must be fair to the players
* Winners are paid
The Alexander First Nation is one of 44 such sovereign communities in the Alberta province of Canada. In 2002 the tribe was awarded $63 million by the Canadian government in settlement of a claim dating back to 1905 when approximately 3 851.9 hectares (9,518 acres) of reserve lands were allegedly surrendered by the First Nation.
The settlement provided Alexander First Nation with approximately $63 million in compensation for the damages and losses suffered as a result of the surrender. The settlement amount was substantial because the former reserve lands are productive agricultural lands and were part of a gas unit producing natural gas from 1955 to 1997. The majority of the compensation was placed in a trust to ensure that future generations of Alexander First Nation members benefit from the settlement.
