The Best Kahnawake Licensed Online Casinos

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The above-listed Kahnawake licensed casinos are picked out based on a list of strict criteria, considering factors such as reputation, support quality and withdrawal times. We believe they’re the best gaming options for those looking to get into the online gaming scene in Canada.

We’ve reviewed each of them, so if any site piques your interest, we recommend you go through our detailed review to find out more about it before signing up.

Because of specific gaming regulations in Canada, most big international online gaming sites do not offer their service in Canadian provinces. Instead of Kahnawake, many opt-in for a Maltese license which covers a broader range of customers, mostly within the EU region.

This may lead you to believe that Kahnawake is a measure of last resort, but far from it. Generally, these sites are tailored to Canada players, and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission is the natural choice here.

As such, there are many respected Kahnawake online casinos to browse through. Some have built up a massive reputation over the years, and they’re a sure bet for players in Canada, but many different countries as well.

There are some differences between Kahnawake and MGA or UK licensed sites. In the layout, many of these sites will look the same. However, the Kahnawake license is acquired in many cases for sites targeting Canada, Australia and New Zealand players. Several popular payment methods and providers are typically not available in some unregulated markets such as Australia, which causes differences in gaming, payments. This also expands to bonuses. For whatever reason, Kahnawake online casinos tend to offer much higher bonus amounts.

Keep in mind, these are general differences that are not set in stone. 

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is the official licensing and regulatory authority for all gaming activities that happen within and from the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. As such, the Kahnawake Gambling Commission issues four main types of gaming licenses:

• Interactive Gaming License (IGL) - Issued to an approved hosting facility in Kahnawake. Only one IGL may only be issued at any given time. Since 1999, Mohawk Internet Technologies has held the sole IGL issued by the Commission.
• Client Provider Authorization (CPA) - Issued to approved entities that want to provide interactive gaming services from the hosting facility in Kahnawake. 
• Inter-Jurisdictional Authorization (IJA) - Issued to an entity that holds a valid interactive gaming license issued by another jurisdiction and that wants to locate some or all its equipment and personnel within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake.
• Key Person License (KPL) - Issued to at least one person who performs managerial or operational functions for the entity that holds a CPA.

Depending on which type of business the gaming provider wants to run, he will have to complete an extensive preparation and application process to obtain one of these licenses.

In addition to these four licenses, operators can obtain licenses to offer online poker games and other raffle games. The Kahnawake Gaming license fees aren’t as steep as those of other jurisdictions such as the MGA or UKGC.

Some key fees that operators are subjected to:

• Initial Authorization Fee - $40,000
• Application Fee - $5,000

The initial authorization fee used to be $25,000. However, even at $40,000, it’s considerably more affordable than different jurisdictions. For instance, the Gibraltar Gaming Commission has a fixed price of $100,000 for all of its remote gaming license types at the time of writing.

It’s very important to note that if the casino fails to meet the licensing criteria, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission provides a complete refund.

Online casinos must provide protection mechanisms if they wish to acquire a Kahnawake license. This is not a requirement for licensing bodies such as Curacao eGaming, and they include things like:

• Deposit Limits
• Self-Exclusion
• Personal Data Safety
• Open Support Channels
• Clarified Complaint Procedure
• Responsible Gambling Assistance

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was first established in 1996, while the Commission’s “Regulations Concerning Interactive Gambling” sort-of bill was enacted three years later.

In July 1999. The Kahnawake Gambling Commission is backed up by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, whose rights are recognized in Canada’s Constitution Act.

As such, the gaming commission is considered an aspect of the Mohawk’s “native rights.

Therefore, the legality of the Kahnawake Gaming Law and the activities of the Commission itself have never been challenged by Canadian laws or any other jurisdiction for that matter.

Today, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission licenses 50+ online gaming operators. This represents more than 250 online gambling sites overall, since some operators hold over a dozen brands.

This makes the Commission one of the largest gambling regulatory bodies in the world. In addition to its online licensing activities, the Commission also licenses land-based poker rooms located within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada.

As is the case with all other casinos in the business, Kahnawake Gaming casinos are required to provide a reliable complaints system on their platforms. Of course, casino players are advised to contact the gaming operator first. If players don’t succeed in resolving the complaint effectively, they can contact the Kahnawake Commission, which will take over and help resolve the issue.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to submit a complaint through the Kahnawake Gaming Commission:

To maintain maximum transparency, we must note that the official Kahnawake Gaming Commission website has occasional issues. Their complaints web form has been known to experience downtime, preventing players from submitting complaints through their site.

Of course, by the time you read this page, all of this could be history. Just in case, in the meantime, you can get in touch with their staff through the Kahnawake Gaming Commission Gaming contact email.

• Email Support – available at [email protected]

• Physical Mail Address - O. Box 1799, Route 138, Kahnawake Mohawk territory

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has absolute authority in its operations and can shut down any online casino it deems to be operating against the rules. The specific regulations and the convenient online gambling currents have helped push the Kahnawake Gambling position close to the top, as one of the biggest grey market gambling regulators in the world.

This can lead to some questionable decisions, which we saw in the 2009 Ultimate Bet scandal when the Commission’s all or nothing stance backfired.

The consequences of this can be exaggerated, but the fact stands that Kahnawake still has ways to go to reach the levels of reputation of the Malta Gaming Authority. Despite Kahnawake’s proximity to Canada, many Canadian players turn to MGA-licensed sites anyway.

This leads to a lack of new online casinos, which can be amended in many ways. For instance, competing regulators keep improving fair play and customer protection rules. This ensures safety in terms of payouts, by keeping player funds separate from company funds. Also, a more reliable complaints procedure would go a long way in putting players’ worries at rest. Ultimately, though, Kahnawake is far from an unknown. As we said, they are one of the top regulatory bodies in online gaming, but with room for improvement.

The Kahnawake Gaming commission has been stagnant for many years now. With the dominance of MGA licensed sites targeting many European countries, as well as Canada and Australia, there's not many reasons besides affordability for an operator to pursue this license. What's more, the focus of brands targeting unregulated markets is split between licenses such as Curacao as well.

In any case, Kahnawake casinos have plenty to offer, including some of the highest bonuses in the industry. They're also very welcoming to players who have no other way to gamble online. Whether this license can rise up in the ranks will largely depend on Canada's legislation, and on Kahnawake itself and how whether they are willing to launch a reformation campaign with stricter regulations, better player protection and a proactive fair play & responsible gambling approach.