Online gaming the focus at expo

A recent exhibition in Barcelona allowed Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Paul Rice to get a taste of what gaming looks like around the world, with valuable lessons brought back to help strengthen Kahnawake’s potential return to the online gaming industry.

Historically standing for International Casinos Exhibition but now rebranded simply as ICE to encompass other forms of gaming, the convention took place in Barcelona, Spain, from January 19-21 and saw more than 65,000 visitors gather to learn more about the latest innovations in gaming.

Rice, who holds the economic development portfolio, said much of the focus was on online gaming, a market that Kahnawake is particularly focused on getting back into since the collapse of Mohawk Online.

Mohawk Online had previously held an exclusive deal with Entain that saw more than $23 million in dividends generated for Kahnawake in less than a decade, but its profitablity floundered, culminating in the dissolution of the deal following the 2024 MCK elections.

Since then, Kahnawake has been out of the online gaming space, but it’s looking to break back in because of the sheer profitability of the market.

More than $100 million has been generated in revenue from gaming over the past three decades, with much of that coming in recent years from electronic gaming devices (EGDs). Council recently announced plans to increase the number of EGD permits in the community, having previously only granted permits to Magic Palace and Playground Poker.

Magic Palace was forced to shut its doors in the spring of 2024 when the MCK terminated its royalty agreement with the facility following allegations that surfaced in La Presse that it had been infiltrated by organized crime. Since then, the organization’s owners have filed a lawsuit against the MCK and MCK grand chief Cody Diabo seeking an unprecedented $220.57 million in damages, a case that is still before the courts.

As it stands, revenue in the community from EGDs is close to $30 million, a major component of Kahnawake’s own-source revenue. If Kahnawake is able to break back into the online gaming space, Rice said that revenue could balloon even more, making the exhibition in Spain important as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) considers its next moves in returning to the online market.

“For me and for the community it was important to go out there and get a good understanding of what trends there are in the online gaming industry, and what kinds of opportunities there are,” Rice said. “As we look at re-entry into the online gaming market, it’s really important to have a good understanding of what kinds of things are being offered, and what the competitive landscape is, so we know what kind of growth we would be looking at.”

He described the experience as a good “temperature check” on the direction of the global online gaming market, and said he was particularly interested to learn about the array of gaming options for players.

“Online gaming was primarily sportsbook for the longest time, and now it’s evolved into more online casino-style games, and e-sports is also a large market,” he said. “There are all kinds of different ways for the online gaming customer to participate in the market, and I was really surprised at the wide variety of options that are there.”

Rice said that MCK’s presence at the exhibition was also important to ensure that Kahnawake is continuing to assert sovereignty over its own market on the international stage.

“We really wanted to reinforce our presence in the market and our jurisdiction,” Rice said.

Provincial jurisdictions were present at the conference, and Rice emphasized that Kahnawake wants to be an aggressive competitor with places like Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba, which all have plans to grow or join the online gaming market.

“It was important for Kahnawake to be there and have some discussions with those jurisdictions to reinforce the fact that Kahnawake has an inherent right to gaming, and we intend to continue to exercise that right,” Rice said.

Consultations are set to start in February concerning the expansion of EGD permits.

[email protected]