Canadian aboriginal groups are banding together to secure their e-gaming futures.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and the Six Nations of the Grand River in Canada have announced that they have signed a "mutual cooperation agreement on gaming" to protect their rights and the potential economic benefits of having casinos on their territories.

An official press statement issued by both parties on Tuesday stated that the agreement "facilitates a memorandum of understanding between each community's gaming regulatory bodies," allowing for swifter exploration of "potential mutually beneficial opportunities in the iGaming industry."

Major Figures:

The Elements Casino Brantford venue in southern Ontario sits on a plot of the Six Nations of the Grand River's hereditary lands known as the Nathan Gauge Tract, which is compensated for by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, which is responsible for the well-known Mohawk Online Limited business.

Aiming high:

In a news statement, Six Nations of the Grand River Chief Mark Hill said that the agreement "signifies an important milestone" as First Nation peoples throughout Canada "come together to address our collective concerns." A national body of indigenous gaming regulators will be established, and the two parties will "begin collaborative work on legal, political, and public relation strategies," as the head of state put it, to safeguard their respective gaming business interests.

View Hill's official comment here...

By working together in this way, Iroquois communities have taken the first step towards realising their full potential. When we work together, we can more effectively enforce our rights and authority in the gaming industry and beyond than we could ever do on our own.

Recent grudge:

Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, who is also the chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawwake, said that the June approval of federal legislation allowing commercial iGaming businesses throughout Canada to begin offering single-game online sportsbetting was a source of frustration for both tribes. The 42-year-old woman claimed that this decision "effectively shut out First Nations by willfully ignoring the legitimate interests of indigenous peoples in the gaming industry," and that as a result, her own tribe would be unable to reap the social and economic benefits of the gaming industry.

Sky-Deer issued the following statement:

"We are happy to renew ties and forge a closer relationship with our brethren. The first step towards bolstering our cooperative efforts to defend our interests and preserve a grip in the gaming sector and other crucial areas we identify in the future is a renewal of this long-standing partnership rooted on nationhood.