On Monday the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) came to an agreement with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) to pull its licensees from the US market. The DGE reported that licensee, Continent 8, LLC, may have provided services to illegal US-facing online gambling sites through the Kahnawake data center.
In the past, the KGC had no restrictions on what markets its licensees could offer their services to, and as a result, it licensed online casinos, sportsbooks and poker sites in gray and black markets. Of course, this included US-facing online gambling sites. These operators ranged from Bovada (part of the Bodog family) to InterCasino, one of the first online casinos to begin operating on the Internet, and it currently regulates around 80 sites. The KGC enacted its licensing regulations as far back as 1999.
Kahnawake Agrees to Stop Licensing US-Facing Sites
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission will stop regulating unapproved sites that were accepting US players on September 30, 2016. Online gambling websites such as Bovada, a leading provider of sports betting, casino, and poker games, will cease to be operating out of the Kahnawake-based data center.
But, Bovada Was Already Not Accepting New Jersey Players?
Interestingly, Bovada had already stopped servicing New Jersey two years ago. Yet the DGE announcement specifically references Bovada even though they no longer accept new players from the Garden State. While Bovada has accepted US residents since its inception into the American market, the state of New Jersey was able to weed out most of the unregulated sites. It would seem as though this DGE announcement is forcing the Kahnawakes’ hand when it comes to the rest of the United States.
“The Division is pleased to have the KGC’s assistance as a fellow regulator and looks forward to working together in the future. We were able to reach a series of agreements that are amenable to all of the parties involved and satisfy the Division’s regulatory concerns,” DGE’s director, David Rebuck, said.