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About Outlaw
In the Ministry of Finance’s view, this ended “any institutional ambiguity” over who should oversee the DRC’s gambling industry.
“The Ministry of Finance reaffirms its determination to drive the reform of the gambling and games of chance sector in accordance with government directives, while upholding legal certainty for operators, transparency in activities and the protection of the Public Treasury’s interests,” said the press release, signed by Alain Malata Kafunda, the chief of staff to the DRC minister of finance.
The press release also warned operators against complying with any payment requests from departments that aren’t legally authorised to do so.
What is Outlaw?
In November 2024, Minnesota Valley issued the tribe a cease-and-desist order and threatened to disconnect Prairie’s Edge if the system was activated. The tribe countered that the utility’s generation restrictions did not apply because the system was designed solely to power its own property and would not feed electricity back onto the grid.
The array, which includes an 800-kilowatt battery storage system, is expected to cover about 30% of the casino’s electricity needs. Prairie’s Edge is the Upper Sioux Community’s principal economic engine, helping fund housing, healthcare, education, and public safety.
In June, Administrative Law Judge Joseph Meyer sided with the tribe, finding Minnesota Valley’s policies did not prohibit behind-the-meter generation and that disconnecting the casino would violate the cooperative’s obligation to provide service.
How to play Outlaw
Harris Tsangarides, executive director of the Gaming & Casino Supervision Commission, said his department had noticed spikes in gambling activity coinciding with GMI payment dates, prompting the regulator to consider “technical solution” to cross-reference GMI beneficiary lists with casino membership records.
An issue raised by Giannis Vasiliadis, director of WBAS, was the limited access to recipients’ banking information. This limited data can hint at suspicious activity but cannot conclusively verify gambling transactions.
Data Protection Commissioner Maria Christofidou said her office had reevaluated a 2022 legal opinion and now recognised a potential legal basis for more granular access to banking information.
