I-Gaming Controversy in Six Nations

A dispute between an Indian chief and a gaming commission has resulted in a state of turmoil for I-gaming in the Canadian Six Nations Indian band.

The Six Nations Band Council, on the recommendation of Chief Roberta Jamieson, last week voted 6-0 to terminate the three members of the commission and replace them with new appointees. The vote came in a closed-door meeting after the chief informed council members that the gaming commission essentially had established a land-based casino in their facility and was conducting Internet gaming without anyone's knowledge in the tribe.

A police investigation following the dismissal of the gaming commissioners, however, turned up no evidence of in-house gambling devices.

Officials with SixNet, the Six Nations' hosting facility for Internet gambling services, said negotiations to remedy the situation are underway and that a resolution is expected within a week. The group also said that gaming licensees shouldn't be affected by the situation. Gaming operations, at this point, appear to be uninterrupted.

The situation arose last week when a customer of www.absolutepoker.com, visited the administration building of the tribe with customer service complaints about the site.

Following the complaint, the chief informed the council that the gaming commission was licensing online casinos without consulting them or tribe members. But according to officials with SixNet, Jamieson toured the hosting facilities earlier this summer and inspected them herself before any licenses were given.

SixNet also operates a Web site that's complete with the Internet gaming regulations for operators who wish to be regulated by the tribe. One operator said it was hard to believe that the chief or tribe leaders would be oblivious to the gaming commissions Internet activities.

Jamieson, meanwhile, is under investigation for selling her shares of the tribe illegally and could face serious criminal charges.

The tribe is scheduled to re-elect a new chief next year, and with Jamieson already under pressure from the stock scandal, the gaming commission situation could be another public relations plunder.

Among the commissioners dismissed is a former chief of the tribe, Steve Williams, a leading volunteer in the tribe who is renowned among tribal members for her work with children.

Williams told the Brantford Expositor News that he knew there was tension between Jamieson and the gaming commission, but he was shocked by the news of the dismissals.

Jamieson also told the council prior to the vote that the gaming commission was in violation of Canadian law by allowing Internet gambling on its servers. Although Canadian law is ambiguous regarding the activity, Indian tribes say they have the right to regulate the activity and some of them already do.

If tribal leaders with Six Nations decide to disassociate themselves with the industry, SixNet could align itself with another tribe interested in venturing into the interactive gaming industry.

As of this morning, the AbsolutePoker site was still up and running and showed no signs of interruptions.