Home / Poker News February 2012 / Bodog.com seized, Calvin Ayre Indicted
Bodog.com seized, Calvin Ayre Indicted
Posted by: Randy Williams - Tue, 2012-02-28 15:37
Bodog.com founder Calvin Ayre has long been a thorn in the side of US authorities and apparently the time has finally come for actual legal steps to be taken against the billionaire who set up the Bodog brand in the early-to-mid 2000s and proceeded to turn it into one of the biggest brands in online sports betting, casino gambling and
online poker.
Ayre has long managed to elude the grasp of US authorities. With the Bodog headquarters set up in Costa Rica, at one point, the company managed billions of dollars in player wagers from a wide range of sources. The indictment, which measures 6 pages, is apparently focused on the movement of gambling and online poker related funds outside the US as well as funds transfers that were made towards US players.
Apparently, in an effort to circumvent the provisions of the 2006 UIGEA, Bodog moved money to various payment processors in Switzerland, Malta, England and Canada, and then used those processors to pay out around $100 million to US gamblers in Maryland and in other US states, disguising the transfers.
The reason why Maryland was singled out is that sports betting is illegal there and much of the Bodog funds were obviously sports-betting related ones. According to the indictment, no corporate entity is immune from Maryland laws simply on account of the fact that it is located outside the jurisdiction.
Three other people were named in the indictment and the charges ranged from operating an illegal gambling business to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Not only did those named operate the illegal business, they even had the audacity to advertise it to the US public, through a media broker.
The company was also indicted and the domain name was seized by the US authorities. Ayre, who stepped down as Bodog CEO in 2008, faces a maximum of 5 years in prison for operating an illegal gambling business and 20 years for the money laundering charges.
