Kahnawà:ke
Playground and gaming authority in Kahnawake
Playground is a poker room and gaming-machine venue on Route 138 in Kahnawà:ke, open 24/7 and licensed by the Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission. Who holds authority over it is set out below, in each side’s own words.
By Élise GagnonChecked October 7, 2026
The room and the floors
Playground opened in 2010 and stays open 24/7, as do its 65 poker tables. The building covers over 128,000 square feet. Gaming machines fill two floors and include electronic blackjack, roulette and baccarat tables. Playground’s own pages give different machine counts, so no number appears here.
Poker is on the 3rd floor, with cash games and tournaments every day. Players join waiting lists through the Poker Atlas app. A Playground Player’s card is needed for the poker tables and gaming machines, issued online or at Guest Services.
The restaurants include THE RAIL, etc. Steakhouse and ORSO Trattoria Moderna. Entry is for people 18 and over, and Playground prints the help line 1-800-461-0140. Three self-contained smoking rooms sit on the 2nd and 3rd floors; the rest of the floor is smoke-free. Parking and valet are free, and there is no hotel on site.
Two sides, in their own words
Kahnawà:ke and the KGC
Playground’s legal page says Kahnawà:ke’s gaming-related activities “continue to be regulated independently and without the involvement of Provincial and/or Federal Governments”. The Commission calls its licensing authority “a facet of the sovereign rights Kahnawà:ke has as a community of Indigenous peoples to govern its own affairs”. It adds that in 2007 this authority “was favourably considered in a decision rendered by the Superior Court of Québec”. It also says the Mohawks “have never been defeated in battle and have never entered into a treaty with any government that waives or diminishes their sovereignty”. In 2024 the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke said it will protect “the reputation and integrity of Kahnawà:ke as a legitimate gaming jurisdiction”.
Québec and Loto-Québec
In a 2019 statement reported by CBC, Loto-Québec said that “according to the Criminal Code only provincial governments, in accordance with their laws, may offer games of chance”. That same year the office of Québec’s Finance Minister told CBC the matter was being discussed “at the Québec-Kahnawake table”. The minister would not say whether Québec considered Kahnawake’s gaming machines illegal.
No Québec-Kahnawà:ke gaming agreement had been published as of October 7, 2026. This guide quotes both sides and takes neither.
The Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission
The Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission was established on June 10, 1996, under the Kahnawake Gaming Law. It has licensed and regulated online gaming since July 8, 1999. On the territory itself it licenses three land-based activities: poker rooms, raffles and electronic gaming devices. Its poker room regulations date from October 3, 2007, and its electronic gaming device regulations from March 29, 2018.
Its licensee list names The Office Poker Club, Playground and River Run Poker, and it is not accepting new applications for land-based poker rooms or gaming devices. This guide lists neither of the other two as open. No hours or website were found for The Office Poker Club. River Run Poker’s temporary closure was approved on January 31, 2024, and no reinstatement notice has been found.
In March 2024 the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke ended its royalty agreement with Magic Palace, a gaming-device venue, after an investigation. Its KGC licence was suspended. Kahnawake residents have voted down a casino three times. The 2012 referendum failed by 24 votes, 846 to 822.
No online site
Playground does not operate an online gaming site. It says any online ads or websites claiming otherwise are fraudulent. On September 26, 2023, the Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission issued a warning about Facebook ads from an unknown source. Those ads falsely said Playground offers online gaming. An ad or site presenting Playground games online falls under the venue’s own description: fraudulent.
Getting there
Playground is at 1500 Route 138, Kahnawake, QC J0L 1B0, in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawà:ke. In a straight line it sits 18.9 km from Montréal city hall. Its own transit directions start at Angrignon metro station, the Green Line terminus. From there, take exo bus 31 or 32 towards Châteauguay. Riders get off at the Playground stop.
Parking is free, and so is valet service. The phone numbers are 450-635-7653 and 1-855-685-7653.
Questions
Is Playground part of Loto-Québec?
Playground is not part of Loto-Québec. That network has 4 casinos, 2 gaming halls, 2 hotels and online casino games on lotoquebec.com. The Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission lists “Playground Poker Club” as a Poker Room licensee and “Playground” as an Electronic Gaming Device licensee.
Does Playground have an online casino?
Playground does not operate an online gaming site. It says any online ads or websites claiming otherwise are fraudulent.
Can visitors smoke inside Playground?
Smoking is allowed in three self-contained rooms. Two are on the 2nd floor with gaming machines, and one on the 3rd floor is for poker players. The rest of the floor is smoke-free. Loto-Québec venues, by contrast, are smoke-free throughout.