Kahnawake is a territory in the province of Quebec, Canada. Having the status of autonomy, this region is entitled to adopt its own corporate and tax laws. Local authorities decided to make the best of it and established the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in 1996, laying the ground for the region’s development as one of the world’s largest and most respected gambling licensing locations.

What are the advantages of a Kahnawake gambling license?

Licensing with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission offers multiple advantages both for startups and established business projects operating in the domain of online gambling.

Key benefits of Kahnawake’s gaming license:

• Issue time. Getting a license in Kahnawake is quite a speedy process: application submission generally takes 4 to 8 weeks and application processing may take another 4-8 weeks.
• License respectability. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission earned its strong reputation by issuing the license only to individuals and entities intending to carry out fraud-free activities responsibly and in good faith. Applicants’ compliance is checked in keeping with the Commission’s code of rules and principles to which the regulator always adheres.
• No corporate tax on gambling income. This is a perfect option for startups since along with the license prestige companies have the opportunity to make more profits and invest them in company expansion.

What types of licenses are required to engage in online gambling?

Online gambling licensing in Kahnawake has its peculiarities: the license is composite and consists of two parts issued separately.

To conduct online gambling activities in Kahnawake, one needs to obtain two licenses:

1. Client Provider Authorisation (CPA)

Holders of this license are granted the Authorized Client Provider status, allowing them to operate in Kahnawake and provide all kinds of online gambling services.

2. Key Person Permits (KPP)

This license is issued to the individual who will be responsible for managing all matters related to the activities of the CPA license holder. As a rule, KPP is required for several individuals who will be in charge of different regulatory frameworks applicable to the CPA holder. A chief executive officer, department head, or staff members in charge of the project’s technical support can act as KPP holders.

Gambling license issue process

The licensing process in Kahnawake involves two stages:

1. Company registration

• For those intending to carry out operations in multiple countries, incorporation of two related companies would be the best option:
• A company in an offshore zone which will be the license holder
• An EU company allowing operations in Europe under a partnership agreement with the offshore company

The choice of jurisdiction depends on the client’s wishes and available means.

2. Application submission and license issue

In this phase, all major work is done, including preparation of the application and documents concerning shareholders, director, and UBOs of the company which will be issued the license.

Having received all necessary documents, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission will conduct checks of the company’s compliance with all standards of ethics which include fair play policies, transparency, and a guarantee that the entity is in no way associated with criminal activity. Further, the applicant must make sure that they do not offer and do not allow underage persons access to their games.

This stage also includes the preparation of basic policies: KYC, AML, responsible gambling, RNG (random number generation) certificate, etc.

The first license is issued for a period of 6 months. Upon expiry of that period, the regulator will issue, based on the checks and tests conducted, a second license which can be extended annually.

When preparing documents for a Kahnawake license, it is important to make careful and thorough preparations, and the best idea is to entrust this work to professionals. SBSB has immense experience in this type of service so feel free to email us at [email protected] or message via our Telegram chat for a top-quality consultation.