2015 Dispute Resolution Summary
(MOHAWK TERRITORY OF KAHNAWÀ:KE – January 25, 2016) – The Commission has issued its 2015 Dispute Resolution Summary, providing detailed statistics concerning the number of complaints received and addressed by the Commission from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission’s Regulations concerning Interactive Gaming, Part XXIII: Complaints and Dispute Resolution (sections 267 – 281) includes provisions to provide players with a method of submitting a complaint relating to any Authorized Client Provider (operator) licensed by the Commission.
In 2009, the KGC made a commitment to improve the dispute resolution process for players of licensed operators. As a result of the initiative, the KGC has a Dispute Resolution Officer, a dedicated complaints email address (complaints@gamingcommission.ca), as well as a pull down option for complaints on the Feedback section of the KGC website.
All complaints must be in writing and must contain clear and unequivocal information about the complainant’s identity, and provide all the relevant details regarding the complaint and the steps that were taken to address the complaint with the operator. Complaints must be submitted to the Commission not less than seven (7) days and not more than six (6) months after the date on which the subject matter of the complaint first arose.
All submitted complaints are acknowledged within twenty-four (24) hours and entered onto the master case file. As soon as practicable after a complaint is received, the Commission will review the complaint submission to establish its validity in order to commence such investigations as may be required under the circumstances.
Unless the Commission in its sole discretion directs otherwise, the details of all complaints, including the identity of the complainant, will be provided to the Authorized Client Provider against which the complaint is made for response. The Commission will advise the complainant of the actions being taken to assist in resolving the complaint. The Operator must provide to the Commission a full and detailed response to the complaint within seven (7) days, or such other time as the Commission may direct.
To assist in the resolution of a complaint, the Commission may request additional information from the complainant, the Operator or any third person, including an Approved Agent.
After its investigations of a complaint are complete, the Commission will:
- dismiss the complaint as unfounded;
- uphold the complaint in whole or in part;
- direct the Operator to take any steps the Commission may, in its sole discretion, deem necessary to resolve the complaint;
- direct an Operator to pay the costs incurred by the Commission in its investigation of the complaint; and/or
- issue any other directions or take any other steps as the Commission, in its sole discretion, deem appropriate under the circumstances.
In summary, for the period covering January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, the Commission received 287 complaints during this time. In addition to the 12 outstanding cases carried over from 2014, the total was 299 complaint submissions. Of this total, 45 did not satisfy the Commission’s criteria and were not accepted as valid complaints. As a result, there were 254 total validated (or net addressable) complaints.
The 254 validated complaints were categorized into the following subject matters:
- 44 complaints pertained to locked or closed player accounts;
- 83 complaints pertained to late, delayed, or non-payment to player;
- 84 complaints pertained to questions of fairness on operator sites;
- 43 complaints were categorized as miscellaneous.
The present status of the 254 validated complaints is as follows:
- 6 remain unresolved, pending, or outstanding (as of December 31, 2015);
- 248 have been resolved as follows:
- 141 (or 56.85%) were closed or dismissed as unfounded;
- 107 (or 43.15%) were upheld in whole or part in favor of the complainant.
A table summarizing these statistics is attached hereto.
About Kahnawà:ke
The Mohawk Territory of Kahnawà:ke is a sovereign jurisdiction located just outside Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission was established in 1996 and has been continuously licensing and regulating online and land-based gaming within Kahnawà:ke since that time.
For more information about the Commission, go to: www.gamingcommission.ca.
To contact the Commission, email: info@gamingcommission.ca
For further information, please contact the Commission at info@gamingcommission.ca
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