Kahnawake Still Moving Forward

Published: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

KAHNAWAKE STILL MOVING FORWARD

"We must now focus on the development of Continent 8 and Asia projects" says Mohawk exec

Kahnawake, one of the largest international online gambling jurisdictions in the industry continues to study the implications of the recent Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act but is pushing forward with expansion plans according to a senior executive.

The state-of-the-art online gambling site host and licensor is situated on First Nation sovereign territory in the Quebec province of Canada, close to Montreal.

Earlier this month, Party Gaming chief Mitch Garber was quoted as saying: "If Kahnawake is the most efficient place to host for our European clients, then we'll keep our games there."

Speaking to The Eastern Door, Charles "Chuck" Barnett says Mohawk Internet Technologies is not panicking over the UIGEA. Barnett is a member of the Tewatohnhi'saktha Board of Directors and also the MIT Board of Supervisors. He said MIT is currently looking at the recently enacted US legislation to see how it could affect MIT and its clients.

"Until we completely assess the situation, we won't know how it will affect MIT" Barnett said.

He explained that this is not the original Kyl-Goodlatte Bill that sought to expand the Wire Act to prohibit online gaming. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Bill only outlaws online gaming financial transactions that the U.S. has deemed illegal.

"This is a watered-down version of the initial Kyl-Goodlatte Bill" Barnett said.

Barnett said MIT and Tewatohnhi'saktha will continue to develop their projects in the Isle of Man and in Singapore. These projects are part of MIT's international expansion through Continent 8.

"We must now focus on the development of Continent 8 and Asia projects" Barnett said. "This really underscores our need to get all of our eggs out of one basket. Asia is an important market and other companies are beginning to follow our lead."

Barnett said: "We can't be panicking. We're concerned, but now is not the time to panic. For us nothing has changed and it's business as usual.

"I would hate for us to lose some of our major operators or to see them shrink" Barnett said. "But MIT isn't going away. We've been able to adapt in the past and we can adapt to the market now."