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 Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:55 pm Post subject: Kahnawake Part II - Is it really legal? Maybe. |
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The water of forgiveness flows downhill; permission is a high mountain icefield guarded by restless, hungry tigers. - A wise proverb
Kahnawake's bold entry into the 21st century:
"Stay calm. Be brave. And wait for the signs". - Jasper Friendly Bear and Gracie Heavy Hand in Tom King's Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour.
| Quote: | The Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour
Audio Cassette
* includes select readings of the
Royal Commission Report
on Aboriginal Peoples (1996)
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| Quote: | | Perhaps the most contentious issue immediately facing Canadian policy- makers is that of gaming on Native Indian reserves. As in the United States, Canadian Indians have been quick to recognize that gambling operations conducted on native lands can provide a source of substantial revenues, native employment opportunities and economic growth. What has become problematic is the issue of whether or not provincial governments have the constitutional authority to require native groups operating on reserves to seek provincial licences and adhere to provincial regulatory policies. Thus it is not so much gambling operations as such that concern Native Indians as it is the larger issue of sovereignty and the independence from provincial and federal governments in making decisions about economic enterprise on Native lands. In this light, the right to conduct gambling operations is perceived by Native leaders as a vehicle for establishing precedents which they see as having the potential to allow for a more expeditious settlement of Indian land claims. While provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario have initiated criminal charges against unlicensed native gambling operations, Native groups remain adamant that provincial gambling regulations do not apply on Indian soil. (From the Introduction to Gambling in Canada: Golden Goose or Trojan Horse?, A Report from the First National Symposium on Lotteries and Gambling, May 1988, edited by Colin S. Campbell and John Lowman, p. xxii). |
Without hesitation, we tip our poker visors to Kahnawake Mohawks for joining the merry throng of mavericks, us included, who are using the Internet to exploit exciting commercial possibilities. Cups up! Too many of our First Nations sisters and brothers have died of old age waiting for permission to vote, own land, use land, form a corporation, hold office, conclude treaty negotiations, ad infinitum.
While we are mindful of the risks of this gaming initiative (see above), it's important, in our view, to examine the rationale for Mohawks proceeding as they did. The best analysis we've found on this is the slightly revised and brilliantly argued Submission to Task Force on Gaming on Reserves, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs by Vina Starr and Micha Menczer in Gambling in Canada: Golden Goose or Trojan Horse? A Report from the First National Symposium on Lotteries and Gambling, May, 1988, edited by Colin S. Campbell and John Lowman, published by the School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, at p. 149. We find it particularly instructive that the piece was written in the late 1980s, which demonstrates sadly the patience Canada has required of aboriginals since first contact when the federal Bleak House first began murdering the innocent hours of history.
Suffer along with us as we wend our way through the tortured analysis of obstacles faced by First Nations most notably in a grim piece of legislation called the Indian Act, an ugly, mean-spirited beast that will not be killed:
| Quote: | The official policy of the last two Canadian governments has been to encourage Indian self-government and economic self-reliance. On April 15, 1986 then Minister of Indian Affairs David Crombie issued a goverment paper entitled "Policy Statement on Indian Self-Government in Canada"...To our knowledge this official Indian Affairs policy had been neither rescinded nor amended as of 1987. On the contrary, the agenda for the First Minister's Conference scheduled for March 26 and 27, 1987 in Ottawa contained one priority item: constitutional entrenchment of the Indian right to self-government. Yet, all Indian Gaming By-Laws submitted during the past few years have been systematically disallowed. (-- p. 152)
...it must be noted that the Criminal Code establishes the general rule that no gambling activities are permitted in Canada unless they are allowed and regulated by the provinces (emphasis ours). The general legislative scheme is for the Criminal Code to probibit gambling, but if the provinces wish to allow it, they are given free rein regarding the policy they use to achieve the Criminal Code objectives. In other words, the Code delegates regulatory power over gambling activities to the provinces. (-- p. 155) |
The authors argue quite credibly, in our view, that the systematic disallowance of Indian gaming bylaws may have wrongly usurped the courts' role in determining whether the bylaws were properly enacted. Furthermore, from the broad perspective, the objectives of Indian gaming bylaws have in no way contravened the goals of provincially regulated gambling, i.e. to fund social programs, or federal goals of self-government and improved economic conditions for aboriginals.
Further reading:
For more on the appalling living conditions still endured by Canada's First Nations -- conditions that might improve with a thriving Internet gaming industry -- see the Royal Commission Report on Aboriginal Peoples (1996), p. 87 of the United Anishnaabeg Council's Research Report on Revenue Generation Capacity dated Dec. 11/96 and President Ronald Reagan's 1983 Indian Policy Statement, which describes goals of self-government and self-sufficiency similar to Canada's.
What about the objectives of the Code with respect to gambling?
That's precisley the question the authors asked. Here's the answer they came up with:
| Quote: | ...Mewett and Manning state that "The criminal law is premised on the belief that there are some acts that ought to be prevented and on the belief that the criminal process is the best way to achieve this." (footnote omitted). Demonstrably, in our society, bingo and other gaming activities are not considered to be acts that ought to be prevented. Rather, they are permitted, albeit carefully regulated. (emphasis ours)...
| Quote: | | The British North America Act of 1867 provides in section 91 that jurisdiction to legislate over the criminal law, except the constitution of the Courts of criminal jurisdiction but including the procedure in criminal matters, belongs to the Parliament of Canada...Under the British colonial system, the constitution of a settlement would be governed by the letters patent or by the instructions issued to the governor under signed manual. Where territory not already settled was conquered by or ceded to the Crown, it was a matter or royal prerogative as to whether it was granted its own constitution. Settlers were deemed to take with them the common law of England, and, insofar as it was applicable, any Statute law of England then existing...In the case of conquered or ceded territory, which was already settled, a different situation applied. It already had some legal system, and this generally was permitted to remain in force until changed. The application of English law was not a matter of automatic imposition. (p. 3; emphasis added) (-- p. 169-170) |
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Do these laws apply equally today to all bands in various regions of Canada?
No, they may not. Here is some food for thought:
| Quote: | | The constitutional position taken by Indians in British Columbia is that their Indian title and aboriginal rights have never been extinguished by the Crown except for minor portions on Vancouver Island. In the face of arguments to the contrary that Indians in B.C. have acquiesced to the criminal jurisdiction of the Crown, it would be well to remember that the criminal law's objective is to prevent wrongs against individuals and the community as a whole. (-- p. 169) |
Further reading:
For more on the traditional role of gambling among First Nations, visit the First Nations link at The Roll & Shuffle. Please send us stories and links if you know of any we've missed.
What about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
The authors provide a tidy list from (a) to (h) of constitutional provisions that have increasingly enhanced aboriginal independence, including funding to develop self-governing institutions and judicial receptivity to a liberal interpretation of statutes relating to Indians. But best of all is the opinion letter from a former official at the Dept. of Justice:
| Quote: | This constitutional position was anticipated in 1982 by Mr. Ian Binnie Q.C., Associate Deputy Minister of Justice. In a legal opinion prepared for the Office of Native Claims on the question of the obligation of provincial governments to participate in the comprehensive land claims process (Nov. 10, 1982, ltr. to Mr. Clovis Demers, A.D.M., DIAND) he said:
| Quote: | The next issue to examine is whether even a provincial law which was valid to restrain the exercise of aboriginal rights prior to April 17, 1982 remains effective in relation to existing aboriginal and treaty rights after that date, or whether the effect of the Constitution Act, 1982 is that whereas formerly provincial law could not directly regulate aboriginal and treaty rights, the provinces have now lost their authority indirectly, an effect of the exercise of aboriginal and treaty rights as well.
To what extent, having regard to Sections 35 and 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982, will provincial laws apply to limit the exercise of aboriginal and treaty rights?
He concludes that:
The relevant constitutional test is no longer whether provincial laws are in relation to exclusive federal objects, but whether they are inconsistent with the recognition and affirmation of existing aboriginal and treaty rights. (-- p. 173-174) |
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We will continue to mine aborginal legal materials to explore the Kahnawake position more fully. Please check back for updates.
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:06 am Post subject: |
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Utah woman advertises Mokawk gaming site on her forehead:
See the Associated Press story, Woman tattoos Web address on forehead, Sold unusual advertising space for $10,000, at CNN.com June 30/05. Here is a brief excerpt:
| Quote: | Smith's eBay auction attracted more than 27,000 hits and 1,000 watchers.
Bidding reached $999.99 before Goldenpalace.com, an Internet gambling company in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada, met Smith's $10,000 asking price. |
Smith told reporters the money was to go toward a private education for her 11-year-old son, who had apparently fallen behind in school.
Wait - isn't there a total ban on gambling in Utah? Yes, but Smith is unlikely to be prosecuted by authorities there for her ad in the wake of CAFTA. Find out more about the effect of trade obligations on U.S. domestic laws at our Carribbean forum.
For more on what prompted Smith, read about the U.S. education gamble at Roll & Shuffle under Yanks. |
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| Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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See the news story, Americans bet 4 billion dollars online despite ban (Update), dated May 23/06 and credited to AFP at Physorg.com.
Here's an excerpt:
| Quote: | The American Gaming Association said its analysis supports the need for a congressional study of ways to regulate online gambling for US residents in a way that will help support US jobs and tax revenues.
The report authored by Washington attorney David Stewart found that online gambling by US residents is growing at a rate of 20 percent per year, despite the contention by the US Department of Justice and several state governments that it is illegal. Because of the threat of prosecution against betting website operators, nearly all the money spent on Internet gambling went to offshore sites, the report said, noting that several countries, including Britain, are in the process of licensing and regulating Internet gambling operators. Stewart added that the US prohibition still allows a high volume of Internet gambling while imposing no regulatory policies to protect gamblers.
"By driving all Internet gambling business to foreign entities, the current regime also ensures that no jobs are created for American workers, no returns are earned by American companies, and no tax revenues are paid to American governments," he said.
Stewart called for a one-year congressional study commission that could evaluate how to best protect children and problem gamblers and whether Internet gambling can be effectively legalized and regulated in the United States.
The report said 2,500 sites on the Internet offer various types of betting on sports or casino games. Globally, these generated somewhere between seven and 10 billion dollars in 2004, the group estimated. It said 85 jurisdictions around the world regulate online gambling, but that most sites are clustered in a few locations. Antigua had 536 in 2005, the highest total, followed by Costa Rica with 474. Third on the list was the Kahnawake Mohawk nation of Canada (401), followed by Curacao (343) and Gibraltar (111).
The report said the implementation by Britain of a 2005 law regulating online gambling may shift more sites to British territory. |
Download the AGA report here. |
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legal
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| Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 10:46 am Post subject: |
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Golden Palace raises sovereignty issue among Quebec Mohawks:
| Quote: | Treasury of the West
Volume I
Audio CD
Featuring Rex Allen's 1962 hit,
Don't Go Near the Indians
| Quote: | Son, don't go near the Indians
Please stay away
Son, don't go near the Indians
Please do what I say |
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| Quote: | Interactive Gaming News
Ambiguity Reigns in Quebec
By Emily Swoboda
Nov. 30/07
| Quote: | A guilty plea by the owners of Montreal-based Golden Palace.com has raised questions about First Nations' rights to issue gaming licences, but the Kahnawake Mohawk nation, which issued the licence to Golden Palace, says such speculation is the result of an incorrect media report. Cyber World Group (CWG), which runs Golden Palace through a server located on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve just outside Montreal, in September copped to two charges of violating Part VII, s.201 of the Canadian Criminal Code (operating an illegal commercial betting enterprise) and must pay a $2 million fine. The charges stem from a raid at Golden Palace's Montreal offices more than a year ago.
Chuck Barnett of Mohawk Internet Technologies, the technology service provider for the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), said the conviction of Golden Palace does not hinder Kahnawake's right to license online gaming operators. Contrary beliefs, he said, have been perpetuated by a report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (see below)
... According to the Criminal Code, only the provincial government is authorized to hand out gaming licenses. Nonetheless, the Mohawks' position has long been that they are a separate and distinct nation from Quebec under s. 35 of Canada's Constitution, which protects traditional native rights. Thus, the KGC has issued 443 licences without consequence since its establishment in 1999.
Barnett maintains that ambiguities surrounding the case and past reports of scuffles with the Quebec government have created a false sense of conflict between the Mohawks and the provincial government. "The Mohawk Council Kahnawake has open lines of communication with the Province of Quebec (and) the minister of security," he said. |
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Is there ANY provision in the Constitution to allow First Nations in Canada to somehow 'contract out' of Canadian gambling laws?
| Quote: | No. While self-governance by aborginals has long been widely accepted and embraced by Canada, a paltry few provisions of federal law have ever been expanded to exempt First Nations from their effect. Because gambling involves criminal law, which is exclusively a FEDERAL matter, granting just one First Nation with exclusive power to operate and regulate gambling would require nothing short of a Constitutional amendment, a feat not unlike moving the Rocky Mts. one foot west then back again. We can't even begin to contemplate the jealous riots Canada could expect from the provinces unless they were similarly gifted.
Here's a typical First Nations legal exemption:
Transportation of Eagle Items Across the U.S./ Canada Border (interim solution)
The Canadian Wildlife Service (Environment Canada) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior) have reached an interim solution to expedite the transportation of eagle feathers and other parts across the U.S./Canada border. Prior to February 1, 2003, the U.S. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 prohibited all transportation of eagle feathers or parts into or out of the United States. The Act's protections have applied to Bald Eagles since 1940 and were expanded to include Golden Eagles in 1962.
This interim solution authorizes status Indians to transport these items to and from the United States for cultural and ceremonial purposes. Under the terms of this solution, individuals crossing the border with eagle items will be asked:
to declare that they are transporting eagle items for cultural or ceremonial purposes;
to present their Certificate of Indian Status (status card); and
to complete a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service import/export form. |
So why does s. 35 keep coming up and what then is meant by the terms, 'aboriginal self-government'?
| Quote: | Here's the tension:
"Where all parties agree, certain rights in self-government agreements may be protected in new treaties under section 35 of the Constitution, as additions to existing treaties or as part of comprehensive land claims agreements."
This suggests the possibility of wiggle-room, but, again -
"Federal, provincial, territorial and Aboriginal laws must work in harmony. Laws of overriding federal and provincial importance such as the Criminal Code will prevail. The interests of all Canadians will be taken into account as agreements are negotiated." (emphasis added) (From What about Land Claims? at the federal Dept. of Indian Affairs(DIAND) website March 5/08) |
Might there be a defensible traditional aboriginal right to provide gambling services?
| Quote: | | Although Canadian courts post-Delgamuukw in determining traditional native rights will allow oral evidence by aboriginals, who often recorded their histories orally, and although that evidence is to be given equal weight with common law jurisprudence, it's nevertheless something of a stretch to imagine compelling argument for a traditional right to provide Internet gambling services. |
Are there any examples of evidence that might be persuasive here?
About the history of gambling legislation in Canada:
| Quote: | The Legalization of Gambling in Canada
By Colin S. Campbell, Timothy F. Hartnagel and
Garry J. Smith
Prepared for 'What is a Crime?'
a project of the now defunct Law Commission of Canada
July 6/05
What is a Crime?
Defining Criminal Conduct in Contemporary Society
(Legal Dimensions)
Hardcover
Law Commission of Canada
| Quote: | ... In June 1985, the Conservative federal minister responsible for fitness and amateur sport (Progressive Conservatives under Brian Mulroney with the largest majority in Canadian history) announced the following agreement between the federal government and the provinces:
The central government, in return for $100 million from the provinces, would change the Criminal Code to grant the provinces and their agencies the sole legal right to conduct or have conducted lotteries and games of chance (Labrosse, 1985:199).
The press release announcing the agreement disclosed that:
The agreement will result in the federal government receiving 100 million dollars in non-tax revenues over the next three years. The funds will be directed towards the federal government’s financial commitment to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary…
The new agreement effectively removes the federal government from the field of lotteries by way of the proposed amendments and is an extension of the 1979 federal-provincial lottery agreement (cited in Labrosse, 1985:200).
In addition to negotiating the provincial payment to the federal government of $100 million that would be redirected to the 1988 Calgary Olympics, the 1985 agreement reaffirmed that $24 million would be paid annually (adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index) to the federal government according to the terms negotiated in 1979. Each province would contribute a share calculated proportionally to its lottery sales. In 2003, the amount contributed by the provinces under this agreement amounted to approximately $60 million (Canada, 2004, Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Dec. 1 & 2).
... Buried within the terms of the amendment which facilitated the transfer of power over gambling was another significant change. The amendment permitted provinces alone or in partnership with other provinces to operate lotteries and lottery schemes through a computer, video device, or slot machine. (-- pgs. 16-18) |
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Link to this entry
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legal
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| Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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From America's OUCH! case - Antigua WTO remedies GATS breach/GATS slash:
Are some remote gambling services more illegal than others?
Has the U.S. given Kahnawake Mohawks the prosecution all-clear?
| Quote: | .. enforcement actions involving the prohibition for credit card companies and systems such as PayPal to make payments to overseas gambling operators, are capable of affecting all providers, and not only those from a particular country of origin. As far as the risk of criminal proceedings is concerned, all remote gambling operators a priori seem to be an equally likely target, even though a number of Antiguan operations may have been subject to prosecution in the past.
(From the arbitrator's decision on the Cross-Border Betting Dispute with U.S., Dec. 21/07, pgs. 35-42) |
We were surprised, to say the least, by repeated references to 'Kahnawake Territory' in the arbitrator's decision Dec. 21/07 on the Cross-Border Betting Dispute between the U.S. and Antigua at the World Trade Organization (WTO) - implying wrongly that Mohawks outside Montreal somehow are not subject to Canadian law. AS IF!
OR
Our question to Canadian trade authorities:
Will Internet gambling in Canada be under the exclusive control of MIT or will other First Nations also get a kick at the hugely profitable can, one wonders? Will ALL Canadians?
UPDATE:
| Quote: | Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour
Audio Cassette
By Frostback Cherokee wit Tom King
Includes select readings of the
Royal Commission Report
on Aboriginal Peoples (1996)
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| Quote: | National Post
Ottawa renews bid to stamp out native gambling sites
By John Ivison
March 4/08
| Quote: | The federal government said Tuesday it is considering new measures to stamp out Internet gaming sites based on a native reserve in Quebec, in a move that could spark conflict between Ottawa and Canada's First Nations ahead of a second national "day of action" this summer. The government deems the 400 or so poker and sports-betting sites operating from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal to be illegal, but neither federal nor provincial governments have attempted to enforce the law. Now Ottawa is reviewing that position.
"Following recent concerns surrounding Internet gambling in Canada, the Minister of Justice [Rob Nicholson] has asked his officials to examine whether the enforcement of the Criminal Code provisions could be assisted with other measures," said Genevieve Breton, Mr. Nicholson's director of communications. The "other measures" are understood to be moves to restrict banks and credit card companies from conducting financial transactions with illegal Internet operators. Similar legislation was enacted in the United States two years ago.
The Mohawks of Kahnawake say these laws do not apply to them since they are a sovereign nation. They also cite section 35 of the Constitution, which was inserted to protect native culture. The Mohawks say that gaming has been central to their culture as a means of settling disputes through competition, not violence. Other native groups, such as the Alexander First Nation in Alberta, have said they plan to emulate Kahnawake.
Owners of horse-racing tracks, such as Great Canadian Gaming Corp., say they pay $1-billion in tax receipts every year to various levels of governments and incur huge expenses putting on the races. "These offshore operations just poach horse-racing and no one can do anything about it. They're parasites on the butt of Canada," said Ross McLeod, chief executive of Great Canadian Gaming, which owns four tracks in Canada. The track owners have also suggested that governments force Internet service providers to block the sites from Canadian bandwidth. "I expect the government to do the right thing and protect our country's interests," said Mr. McLeod.
Chuck Barnett, who is a member of the board of supervisors for Mohawk Internet Technologies, a utility company that provides connectivity services for the site owners at Kahnawake, sees Ottawa as a foreign government that has no business regulating activity on Mohawk territory. "However, if I were a Canadian, I might instead be more interested in how explicit legislation could serve as the catalyst for a potential source of economic development, employment and revenue through taxation," he said.
This view was echoed by Michael Lipton, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in gaming law. He said the horse racing industry has had a monopoly on gambling in Canada for years, with Woodbine Entertainment currently holding a lock on government-sanctioned online horse betting. "I guess if I had a monopoly, I wouldn't want anyone to compete against me either," he said. Mr. Lipton said the U.S. has faced serious technical difficulties implementing restrictions on the payment system. "They are completely bogged down on how to block this system." He acknowledged the Mohawks have had some problems with fraud. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which regulates Web sites operating from the reserve, fined one popular Web site -- Absolute Poker -- $500,000 after players complained of irregular betting that was traced back to someone associated with the site.
But he said most operations are transparent and credible. Rather than attempting prohibition, Mr. Lipton said the government should bring the Kahnawake sites into the system and regulate them. He said this would protect the vulnerable; guard against money laundering; bring in tax revenue; and, provide a competitive edge in the gaming software market in terms of international trade. "I think [Ottawa] should embrace this and recognize that people don't want to be in a position where the government tells them what they can or can't do in the peace of their own home," he said |
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Might Alexander First Nation somehow escape Canada's gambling restrictions?
| Quote: | No chance.
"They promise and engage that they will in all respects obey and abide by the law, and they will maintain peace and good order between each other, and also between themselves and other tribes of Indians, and between themselves and others of Her Majesty's subjects, whether Indians or whites, now inhabiting or hereafter to inhabit any part of the said ceded tracts, and that they will not molest the person or property of any inhabitant of such ceded tracts, or the property of Her Majesty the Queen, or interfere with or trouble any person passing or travelling through the said tracts, or any part thereof, and that they will aid and assist the officers of Her Majesty in bringing to justice and punishment any Indian offending against the stipulations of this treaty, or infringing the laws in force in the country so ceded." (emphasis added) (Excerpt from Treaty 6 governing First Alexander Nation in Alberta) |
Link to this entry
http://pokerpulse.com/legal/viewtopic.php?p=527#527
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legal
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| Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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... Is this the end or the beginning?
| Quote: | Treasury of the West
Volume I
Audio CD
Featuring Rex Allen's 1962 hit,
Don't Go Near the Indians
| Quote: | Son, don't go near the Indians
Please stay away
Son, don't go near the Indians
Please do what I say |
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cbc.ca/news
Drug raids on Mohawk territories lead to arrests
March 26/08
| Quote: | More than 300 police officers raided Mohawk territories in Quebec, eastern Ontario and New York State Wednesday morning, arresting suspects in a drug smuggling ring, police said. The raids were conducted by provincial police, RCMP, Mohawk Peace Keepers, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Warrants had been issued for the arrests of 30 people, but not all have been detained yet, police said.
"The operation was targeting a criminal organization that was involved in traffic and exportation of drugs toward the United States," said RCMP Const. Charles Vallee. Vallee said the drug ring was based on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve just south of Montreal. Police allege the suspects were smuggling marijuana across the border into the U.S. Arrests were made in Montreal, Kahnawake, Kanesatake, and on the Akwesasne territory, which spans the borders between Quebec, Ontario and New York near Cornwall, Ont.
Vallee said the arrests followed an investigation instigated by the Aboriginal Combined Forces Special Investigation Unit. "The involvement of the Kahnawake Mohawk Peace Keepers has played a key role in the operation," he said. |
| Quote: | | Coincidentally, perhaps, CBC Radio One news in Vancouver reported March 26/08 before 8 a.m. that last summer's roadblock protests were much closer to becoming violent than originally reported and that they would continue again in 2008. |
But GigaMedia claims Kahnawake servers are NOT at risk of prosecution
According to a GigaMedia Press Release of March 25, 2008, No Concern about Canada Regulatory Position:
| Quote: | | On the basis of communications with Canadian counsel and government officials, the Company believes no change in the current licensing system is contemplated. Moreover, in accordance with best practices, GigaMedia maintains disaster recovery and alternate hosting arrangements. |
And again during a conference call March 11/08:
| Quote: | Todd: Ok. And then just one final question. There has been a lot chatter regarding the your Canadian jurisdiction, Kahanawke, internet gaming jurisdiction, regards to the government looking to possibly shut that jurisdiction down. Can you maybe address this. Do you think that's a possibility and if so I'm sure you guys have constituency plans, can you maybe just help us understand what going on there and you'd might do if something like that did happen?
Arthur: Sure Todd. First of all we see no possibility of that happening in the near term. It is a rumor that has as been circulated around that we see no basis for. Second of all, we are in the final phases of obtaining another gaming licenses in Malta. (emphasis added) And so we will have both redundant licensing and redundant operating facilities. |
Who's providing this 'Canadian counsel'?
Suggest a name check at the Barreau de Quebec Complaints and Discipline link.
Link to this entry
http://pokerpulse.com/legal/viewtopic.php?p=531#531 |
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legal
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Aug 2004
Posts: 510
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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Forbes
Magazine Subscription
Feds Hound Bodog
By Janet Novack and William P. Barrett
July 30/08
| Quote: | The U.S. government recently seized $24 million from bank accounts linked to Bodog, the giant, illegal-under-U.S.-law Internet gaming operation founded by Canadian tycoon Calvin Ayre.
Federal filings make very clear that a serious criminal investigation of the Bodog enterprise is ongoing. At a minimum, word of the seizures is likely to rattle the confidence of U.S.-based online gamblers that they will receive their winnings, not only from Bodog but from the industry's other remaining participants.
Detailed in court filings in a Baltimore federal court, the Bodog-related seizures from such well-known institutions as Wachovia (nyse: WB - news - people ), Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ), SunTrust Banks (nyse: STI - news - people ) and Regions Bank, a unit of Regions Financial (nyse: RF - news - people ), increase the possibility of criminal action against Ayre himself. There already has been published speculation in his native Canada that he is under secret indictment somewhere in the U.S. The U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore, which launched the two lawsuits to take the $24 million, did not respond to a request for comment.
The flamboyant Ayre--media reports often call him a "playboy"--is now believed to be in Antigua and Barbuda, a country in the eastern Caribbean. He has denied being on the lam. A request on Wednesday for comment from Ayre, sent through the Web site of his Antigua-based Calvin Ayre Foundation, was not immediately returned. Nor were call and e-mail messages sent to public relations contacts listed on Bodog's Web site.
In early 2006 Ayre rocketed to international prominence--and the cover of Forbes magazine' annual issue on the world's billionaires--for his stewardship from Costa Rica of Bodog Entertainment Group and his open flouting of authorities in the U.S., his major market. The story headline: Catch Me If You Can. The operation was said at the time to be handling $7.3 billion yearly in poker, casino and sports event wagers.
But since then, Ayre has been the subject of law-enforcement raids abroad and growing regulatory scrutiny, especially in the U.S. In late 2006 President Bush signed a law strengthening the prohibition on online gambling. Ayre fell off the Forbes worldwide billionaires list after just one year, amid a decline in his industry's fortunes. ...
Ayre has been trying to put legal distance between himself and the operation he founded in the 1990s. For years its business was run through Internet servers belonging to Mohawk Internet Technologies, located on the Kahnawake Reserve Indian reservation in Quebec, Canada.
In September 2007 Bodog said its North American operations would be licensed to Morris Mohawk Group, also located on the reservation and run by tribal chief Alwyn Morris. Three months ago, Ayre, now 47, said he had transferred ownership of Bodog itself to Morris Mohawk Group. "It's true; I'm packing it in," Ayre wrote on a Web site. ... (emphasis added)
According to Carrow's detailed sworn statements, the IRS's Criminal Investigation Division started looking at Bodog in 2003 and opened a formal probe in 2006. ...
Even before the advent of Bodog, Ayre carried considerable baggage. Close family members were convicted of drug trafficking. (Ayer himself was never charged.) In 1996 Ayre was banned for 20 years from the British Columbia securities industry for stock market offenses. By that time, he was already moving into online gaming. "One of the things that drives me is the excitement that I could fail," he told Forbes in 2006. "What better buzz can you get?" |
Link to this entry
http://pokerpulse.com/legal/viewtopic.php?p=572#572 |
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