In contrast to Ontario, where politicians want to ban advertisements for online gambling, other provinces throughout Canada have been much more receptive to the online gambling industry.

The Quebec-based Kahnawake First Nation Mohawks, for example, will soon be facing some serious competition from the province of Alberta’s Alexander First Nation, which recently announced plans to form an online gambling commission for the purposes of regulating companies that have been granted licenses to operate under the tribe’s sovereignty. Quebec’s Kahnawake First Nation Mohawks are already home to over 300 online gambling brands as well as host to numerous servers for online gambling companies.

In an announcement about the formation of the commission, a spokesperson for the Alexander First Nation said that its online gaming commission will grant gaming licenses for qualified applicants and that the commission is confident that its qualifications and regulations process will ensure a safe and secure gaming environment for online gamblers.

The objectives of the Alexander First Nation gaming commission are to regulate and control all gaming type activities from or within the Alexander First Nation. To obtain a license to operate, online poker sites and online casinos must meet the following basic criteria:

1. Only qualified persons or entities are allowed to operate within Alexander.
2. Games offered must be operated fairly.
3. Winners must not be denied their winnings.

One of about 44 such sovereign communities located in the Alberta province of Canada, the Alexander First Nation was awarded approximately $63 million Canadian dollars in a settlement for a 1905 claim against the government for confiscating 3 851.9 hectares (9,518 acres) of reserve lands that had allegedly belonged to the First Nation.

The $63 million settlement was in payment for the damage and losses suffered by members of the Alexander First Nation, with a majority of it being placed in a trust so that future generations of the First Nation will be able to benefit from the financial reward as well. The amount was substantial because the lands taken were valuable agricultural lands as well as part of a gas-producing unit from 1955 to 1997.

Posted on: November 15, 2006

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