Calvin Ayre indicted, Bodog.com domain grabbed, yet business is as usual

Bodog is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in on-line gaming since they have been working from the middle of the 90's. Unluckily, they’re such a great name that the us Division of Homeland Security has been making a case against Bodog. This nowadays led to the seizure of the website name Bodog.com, which was noted by CalvinAyre.com.

The good news is that Bodog.com isn’t actually that vital to the company’s operation since American gamers use Bovada Poker now; those outside the United States utilize the website name Bodog.eu. Thus it doesn’t genuinely make much sense that the Department of Homeland Security would waste their time confiscating this website name.

As for Bodog founder Calvin Ayre’s ideas on the issue, he was quoted as saying, “Not certain what to say. BodogBrand.com is a brand-licensing organization based outside the united states. The brand left the market industry last year and the domain name in question has been dormant worldwide more than that.” He added, “We are only at the moment doing brand licensing deals outside the united states thus this domain name had no location in any of our current plans.”

Bodog founder Calvin Ayre has been indicted by federal prosecutors in Baltimore and the Bodog.com domain name has been seized by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

In the indictment unsealed today, Ayre, James Phillip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney are faced with performing a gambling business in addition to cash laundering. Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore, claims that the offenders "did knowingly and illegitimately carry out finance, control, supervise, direct, and own all or part of an illegal gambling business, to wit, a gambling business including on line sports wagering."

"Sports wagering is outlawed in Maryland, and federal law forbids bookmakers from flouting that law simply because they are situated outside the country," stated Rosenstein. "Numerous of the harms which underline gambling prohibitions are increased once the enterprises work over the internet with out regulation."

The indictment alleges which Bodog communicated with two processors to facilitate repayments with players. The processors named in the indictment were JBL Companies, which allegedly processed at least $43 million, and ZipPayments, that allegedly processed a minimum of $57 million. Cash from both those processors was previously seized by the IRS back in 2008.

Ayre responded to the indictments with a statement on his website, CalvinAyre.com.

“I see this as abuse of the U.S. criminal justice system for the industrial gain of huge U.S. companies," he mentioned. "It is obvious that online blackjack market is legal under international law and in the case of all these documents is it also clear that the rule of law was not allowed to decrease a rush to attempt to attempt to win the war of public opinion."

Visitors that visit Bodog.com are welcomed with a Department of Justice seizure see similar to the one which was plastered on the house pages of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and UB.com back on April fifteen, 2011. Nonetheless, the real difference in this notice is that it was issued by the Department of Homeland Security and not the FBI.

The seizure shouldn't affect the short-term business of Bodog. The Bodog.com website name hasn't been in make use of since late this past year. That website name had recently been switched to Bodog.eu and American players have been able to access Bovada.lv since December. Each of those websites are up and running as always.