Promotional material for PrivateTable.com. Image from Facebook
The main servers for the new Internet gaming site operated by the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel in California are located on a reserve in Canada, an executive said. The tribe launched PrivateTable.Com last week under an "inter-jurisdictional" agreement with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, a regulatory body based on the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec. David Chelette, the president of the new venture, told Online Poker report that the "primary" servers are on the reserve, with "secondary" servers on the reservation in California. Chelette also said “a VPN connection between Santa Ysabel and Kahnawake" provides a communication link between the two Native governments.
Closed for business. A message on the former Santa Ysabel Casino website.
The tribe closed it physical casino in February. The facility failed to meet expectations and owes millions of dollars to its creditors, including the Yavapai-Apache Nation of Arizona. Federal law bars Internet gaming unless it is conducted under a Class III gaming compact or under state law. Neither condition appears to be met in California but Martin Owens, an attorney who is working with the tribe, believes PrivateTable.Com is legal. Get the Story:
PrivateTable President: Our Poker Site Will Be “In Compliance” With Federal, California Law (Online Poker Report 7/25) Related Stories:
Iipay Nation started planning Internet poker games last year (7/24)
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