January 20, 2008 - Boohoo for Kahnawake! Oh the injustice! I don't mean
"Boo Kahnawake"
overall, although I do say it every now and again. I'm
just a little perturbed about the Kahnawake Gaming Commission's reaction to the
decision of the UK Department of Culture Media and Sport to not put Kahnawake on
the UK online casino whitelist. Oh and did I mention I'll never forgive them for
the way they handled the Absolute Poker cheating scam?
So here's the deal. Grand Chief Michael Ahrihrhon Delisle, Jr. made a public
statement in response to being left off the whitelist, which for all of you new
to the game, means that Kahnawake licensed online casinos will not be permitted
to advertise in the UK, which in turn, means it is very likely many of their
casino licensees will choose to be licensed elsewhere (in a jurisdiction that
has been whitelisted).
Chief Delisle said that despite being the
first gaming jurisdiction to accept the standards implemented by eCOGRA, they
have been left in the dark. Uh yes, that's obvious. What is also obvious is that
Kahnawake does not require all online casinos to live up to eCOGRA standards.
Believe you me, Kahnawake has let some questionable software providers slip
under the cracks. I'm not saying it was intentional, but it certainly makes you
wonder how tight Kahnawake's regulation standards are being enforced.
Delisle also pulled the race card, if you
will, which I find ridiculous. He said that "indigenous peoples have the right
to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems........and
if denied of their means of subsistence and development are entitled to just and
fair redress". Yes, I agree with that statement. But in the context of this
situation? Absolutely ridiculous! So, in other words, not getting whitelisted
(which you don't deserve in the first place), is going to cause the Mohawk tribe
(which has already profited millions, likely billions, from online gambling) to
go into an economic crisis and starve to death.
I just have to say that I personally don't
feel sorry for Kahnwake one bit (as if you couldn't tell). They need to do some
"redressing" of their own regarding the Absolute Poker cheating scandal. Until
Kahnawake is more transparent about this case, names some names, and takes the
appropriate actions of bringing the cheats to justice, and until they kick out
some software providers who they license (errr, the shady Grand Virtual
Software) I will not support a Kahnawake bid to get on the UK online casino whitelist.