The thought or rather trying to wrap my thoughts around the complexity of trying to understand how the world’s gaming licensing companies originated – who put them together and the governing minds behind them – is bringing up one big blank in how much I trust them or how much faith I have in them.

When Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker were going through the grinding motion with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, I seriously wondered then and still do wonder how they were even established and who is the authority that could make rulings on such matters – the authority as in justice seeking individuals, the people behind the commission.  This statement taken from Wikipedia doesn’t restore my faith:

**

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and the Commission have consistently asserted that the jurisdiction to enact the Kahnawake Gaming Law is an aspect of Kahnawake’s Mohawk or “aboriginal rights” that have existed since time immemorial and that were most recently recognized and affirmed in subsection 35(1) of Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982. Since it was first established in 1996, the legality of the Kahnawake Gaming Law and the activities of the Commission have never been challenged under the laws of Canada or any other jurisdiction.

**

It may be their ‘aboriginal right’ but what about governing appropriately and licensing that could affect the rest of the world? After reading about Joe Norton I had even less faith in the Kahnawake Commission.

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission isn’t doing much for my level of trust on gaming licensing commissions.  This really has nothing to do with Full Tilt Poker, although some of the actions of the AGCC are entwined around Full Tilt Poker and I feel the AGCC has fallen down on the job.  I’ve wondered long before this just how they set themselves up to govern.  This is their statement:

**

MISSION

The mission of the Commission is to ensure and maintain the integrity of the electronic gambling industry in Alderney.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Commission are to protect the reputation of Alderney as a first tier eGambling jurisdiction by seeking to ensure that:

• all electronic gambling on Alderney is conducted honestly and fairly;
• the funding, management and operation of electronic gambling on Alderney remains free from criminal influence; and
• electronic gambling is regulated and monitored so as to protect the interests of licensees’ customers as well as the young and vulnerable.

**

I know I’m dense and can’t see through the curtain, but what does this mean exactly?  “all electronic gambling on Alderney is conducted honestly and fairly;” If we are playing at Full Tilt Poker from the US, are we electronically gambling on Alderney? If so, why aren’t they accepting responsibility for issuing the license, then knowing everything that went down on April 15th and allowing play to continue for so long with the rest of the world, like the US didn’t matter.

The information on the website appears to be sound and reasonable, yet I still wonder how they are considered an authority. They speak highly of themselves, like their licensing policies are a cut above the rest of the world.

Then we have the Gambling Commission in the UK:

**