Legality of Kahnawake Server Farms???

[Chino Brown]

For me, this whole AP scandal has really brought some more transparency to the way online poker sites are run. But after reading up a little on the situation with which most sites still in the US are run from, I am left confused. First off, it appears the Canadian govt has publicly stated many times to the press that the Kahnawake server farms are illegal by Canadian law. If this is true, why hasn't the govt stepped in and shut down Kahnawake's online gambling business? Mind you, the articles in which someone from the CAN govt claimed this are all from several years ago, I think the most recent being 2004. So, why then has the Kahn. operation been running for so long with apparently no disruption? Also, how long can Kahn. continue to run its operations before the govt shuts them down? Will the govt ever step in and intervene given that relations b/w Natives and the CAN govt appear shaky at best?

Secondly, it appears that the legal situation of online poker in Canada appears to be very similar to the legal situation in the US, in that it is still very much in a grey area and open to interpretation. So, why then would so many reputable and trusted sites base their operations in a country which might decide against the legality of online poker at anytime in the future? Why not base it in a country like the UK where it seems to be explicitly legal? If the CAN govt actually does act and moves in on the Kahnawake operation what will happen to online poker? Are the sites ready to move and set up shop somewhere else overnight?

Finally, the Mohawks of Kahnawake appear to be justifying their online gambling business on their right to sovereignty and independence from provincial/federal governments. While this has yet to be decided in a court of law(at least that i know of), it appears to have kept the govt at bay for now. So if this reasoning has worked for so long in Canada, why haven't any Native tribes in the US set up similar online gaming operations on the basis of sovereignty/independence from govt?

Sorry for posting so many questions, but these are issues I really need clarification on and I haven't read anything yet that provides it. Thanks!