Quebec Court of Appeal: Kahnawake’s licensing decisions can be reviewed by Quebec courts

In February 2026 the Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s appeal in the Magic Palace case, confirming that the Quebec Superior Court may hear a judicial review of the commission’s licensing decisions. The decision, reported by The Eastern Door on 19 February 2026, upholds a November 2024 Superior Court ruling and sends the dispute back to that court on its merits.

The dispute behind the ruling

Magic Palace is a gaming hall in Kahnawake, on the south shore of Montreal in Quebec. In the first half of 2024 the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) suspended the venue’s gaming licence. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) then terminated the venue’s electronic gaming device royalty agreement, and the commission invalidated the licence outright without holding a hearing. By the time of the appeal ruling the hall had been closed for close to two years, and its owners were seeking permission to reopen plus C$220 million in damages.

The owners asked the Quebec Superior Court to review the commission’s decisions. The commission argued that Quebec courts had no jurisdiction because it is created by the Kahnawake Gaming Law, a Mohawk law. In November 2024 the Superior Court rejected that argument, and the commission appealed.

What the Court of Appeal decided

Writing for the court, Justice Frédéric Bachand framed the question as one of statutory interpretation rather than jurisdiction: whether Quebec’s Code of Civil Procedure extends the Superior Court’s power of judicial review to a private body such as the commission. The court found no reason the code would let the Superior Court order a private entity to perform an act while denying it the power to review that entity’s decisions.

The ruling is narrow. In its own statement the commission stressed that the Court of Appeal did not address the specifics of Magic Palace’s case and did not rule on whether the application is well founded. It simply concluded that the Superior Court may hear it. Whether the suspension and invalidation were lawful, and whether damages are owed, remains to be decided.

The wider jurisdiction question

On 13 May 2024 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the MCK’s constitutional challenge to the iGaming Ontario model, finding that iGaming Ontario’s oversight of private operators satisfies the Criminal Code requirement that a province “conduct and manage” a lottery scheme. The MCK said later in May 2024 that it would not appeal and would pursue its interest in gaming through other avenues.

One of those avenues is Parliament. Bill S-241, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Indian Act, was introduced in the Senate by Senator Scott Tannas on 20 November 2025. It would recognise that First Nations governments may conduct, manage or license gaming on their reserve lands on the same footing as provinces, with notice to federal and provincial governments but no requirement for their approval. It revives Bill S-268, which was introduced in 2023 and died at committee stage when Parliament’s session ended in January 2025, and this time the MCK supports it. When the Court of Appeal ruled, the bill was at second reading in the Senate. It has since passed second reading and is in committee, and it would still need to pass the House of Commons.

What it means for players

For a Canadian player, the practical picture has not changed. Sites licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission are accessible from most provinces, but they are not part of the regulated markets in Ontario or Alberta and offer no provincial complaint route. The Magic Palace ruling means a Quebec court can examine how the commission handles a licence, but it does not make a Kahnawake licence a provincial one. Check your province’s page on this site for the regulated options and the legal age where you live.

Gambling can be addictive. Please play responsibly and within your means.