Home / Poker News May 2011 / The Poker Grapevine – Bodog moves to a Different URL
The Poker Grapevine – Bodog moves to a Different URL
Posted by: Randy Williams - Thu, 2011-05-26 07:07
Bodog have long been at odds with the US authorities and they have definitely learned a couple of things from their past confrontations, one of which is: if you mess with the bull, you get the horns. The latest developments, dubbed “Black Monday” events by the community, which saw the seizure of 10 domain names, together with 11 accounts associated with
online poker and online sports betting operations and the handing out of 3 indictments to top things off, have definitely rung the alarm bells at Bodog, one of the few remaining online poker operations which continue to serve US-based customers.
As a preventive measure, the
Bodog Poker guys have moved their operations to Bodog.eu, a safe-haven where the long arm of the US law still can’t reach. Of course, the site did not officially admit that that was indeed the reason behind their move. The statement they released said that they moved in order to better position themselves for the exploration of new markets. Those in the know can read between the lines though.
In other Black Monday-related developments – graphic associated with the seizure of the domain names has begun showing up on the affected sites. This graphic does not say “Seized by the FBI” like the Black Friday ones did though. Instead, it says “seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations” –indeed the entity behind the Black Monday moves.
In other news: the events that have caught the online poker industry on the wrong foot did not pass without some pretty radical and shocking consequences as far as player traffic is concerned. Overall traffic has experienced a virtual free-fall since Black Friday, and - exasperated by the Black Monday moves – the trend continued last week. Overall, the industry lost another 2.6% of its customers last week. Apparently,
Full Tilt Poker was responsible for most of that: the site’s traffic dropped by 11% last week, further contributing to a 32% decline since the beginning of the year.
