Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma secures Isle of Man gaming licence

Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma has announced that it has secured an online gaming licence in the Isle of Man, marking the first time that a US tribal operator has entered the UK online gaming market.

Ioway Internet Gaming Enterprise Limited, an Isle of Man company operated by the tribe, was issued an online gaming licence less than two years after it first announced its intent to operate an international online gaming website from its tribal lands located within the exterior borders of the State of Oklahoma.

This licence award means that the Iowa Tribe can now begin to operate an online poker site from its base in Perkins, Oklahoma as enshrined under its gaming compact with the State of Oklahoma.

In November 2015, an arbitrator held that the Iowa Tribe could offer internet games approved under the tribe's compact with the State of Oklahoma from Iowa Tribe Indian country to players located outside the United States where it was lawful. A federal district court in Oklahoma City subsequently certified the arbitration award in April 2016.

After extensive research by tribal officials, the tribe chose to apply for a licence on the Isle of Man, completing the application process earlier this year. Tribal officials have confirmed that they intend to apply for further licences in other jurisdictions in the near future.

In a statement announcing the licence award, Iowa Tribe Chairman Bobby Walkup said: "The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is proud to be the first Native American tribe to secure an international online gaming license.

"The process has taken longer than we may have envisioned when we began this journey, but, because we are a Native American tribe and held to higher gaming legal and regulatory standards, we had to ensure that we met all these standards."

No specific launch date has been as been set for the tribe’s first online poker site, which will go live later this year.