Bodog

This was on cbs sports: http://www.cbssports.com/general/story/17489025/feds-shut-down-gambling-site-bodog-indict-operators

BALTIMORE -- Federal prosecutors have shut down the sports betting site Bodog and indicted four Canadians for illegal gambling that generated more than $100 million in winnings.

Prosecutors announced Tuesday that the company's domain name Bodog.com has been seized. The indictments were handed down Feb. 22 and unveiled Tuesday in Baltimore.

The indictment names four owners or operators of the site. They are Calvin Ayre, James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney.

Prosecutors said sports gambling is illegal in Maryland. They alleged the company advertised to attract gamblers to the website and paid out at least $100 million in winnings to gamblers in Maryland and elsewhere from 2005 to 2012.

------------------------------

Sorry, I don't know how to do links right

They're indicting Calvin Ayre on money laundering, that
can't be good.

Whoa, Homeland Security seized the Bodog domain name yesterday.
This is pretty serious, I wonder what will happen next.

This is a pretty big deal. This story is just 40min old.

Ayre claims Bodog has been dormant, yet:

"According to the indictment, an undercover Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent opened an account in June 2009 and made sports bets on Bodog.com, most recently in January 2012. The agent received winnings by check and cash."

So the Fed's were betting Bodog and getting paid just
last month. Uh Oh...

I'm unclear on the relationship between Bodog and Bovada...however this makes me a little bit nervous since I have funds currently in Bovada from betting on the Oscars.

And currently, when you click on the "Payout" option for Bovada, you see this:

Quote: Bovada

Payouts Are Not Available At The Moment

For more information please contact Customer Service.

This message has been on the payout page for at least a couple of days, so it predates the news stories above.

Still a little worrisome, though.

Quote: EvenBob

This story is just 40min old.

Bodog indictment


RCK:USAO 2007R00677
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :
:
v. : CRIMINAL NO.

Defendants. :

BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com,
CALVIN AYRE,
JAMES PHILIP,
DAVID FERGUSON, and
DERRICK MALONEY,

INDICTMENT
COUNT ONE (Conducting gambling business)
The Grand Jury for the District of Maryland charges that:
From at least on or about June 9, 2005, through at least January 6,
2012, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere,
did knowingly and unlawfully conduct, finance, manage, supervise, direct,
and own all or part of an illegal gambling business, to wit, a gambling
business involving online sports betting, which gambling business was in
violation of the laws of the State of Maryland, to wit, Maryland Criminal
Code Section 12-102, and which involved five or more persons who
conducted, financed, managed, supervised, directed, and owned all or part
of said illegal gambling business, and which has remained in
substantially continuous operation for a period in excess of thirty days.

COUNT TWO (Money laundering conspiracy)
The Grand Jury for the District of Maryland also charges that:
A. From at least on or about June 9, 2005, through at least
January 6, 2012, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere,
did knowingly combine, conspire, and agree with each other and with other
persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury to commit offenses against
the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1956, to wit: to
transport, transmit, and transfer funds to a place in the United States
from and through a place outside the United States with the intent to
promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity, that is
conducting an illegal gambling business in violation of Title 18 United
States Code Section 1955.

Manner and Means of the Money Laundering Conspiracy
B. Because the success of an Internet gambling business depends
on the movement of funds from the gambling business to the gamblers as
winnings, and also from the gambling business to others who perform
services that promote the gambling business, such as media resellers and
advertisers, the purpose of the conspiracy was to move funds from
accounts controlled by BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com,
and located outside the United States, to the gamblers, media resellers,
and advertisers located in the United States. The manner and means used
to accomplish the objectives of the conspiracy included, among others,
the following:

1. It was a part of the conspiracy that the defendants and
their co-conspirators would and did play different roles, and take upon
themselves different tasks involving (a) the movement of funds to pay
winnings to gamblers, (b) the hiring of media resellers and advertisers
to promote the Internet gambling activity, and (c) the movement of funds
from accounts outside the United States, in Switzerland, England, Malta,
Canada, and elsewhere, to accounts in the United States to pay those
media resellers and advertisers.

2. Members of the conspiracy communicated with payment
processors located in the United States and elsewhere and directed those
payment processors to send funds by wire and by check to gamblers located
in Maryland and elsewhere. Two such payment processors were (a) JBL
Services Inc., which processed at least $43 million for BODOG
ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com, and (b) ZipPayments Inc.,
which processed at least $57 million for BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A.,
d/b/a BODOG.com.

3. Through these communications, members of the conspiracy
caused the movement of funds from outside the United States to gamblers
located in the United States, including gamblers located in Maryland.

4. Members of the conspiracy also communicated by email with
gamblers located in Maryland and elsewhere to convey instructions about
how to collect winnings from gambling on the BODOG.com website.

5. Members of the conspiracy communicated in person, by
telephone, and by email with employees of a media reseller that was
located in the United States.

6. Through these communications, members of the conspiracy
caused the media reseller to create and execute an advertising campaign
to increase the participation by gamblers in the United States on the
BODOG.com website.

7. Through these communications, members of the conspiracy
caused the media reseller to send invoices to BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com. These invoices represented the costs and fees for
the creation and execution of the advertising campaign.

8. Members of the conspiracy caused funds to be sent by wire
from accounts located outside the United States to accounts located in
the United States to satisfy the invoices sent by the media reseller.
These wire transfers totaled more than $42 million during 2005 through
2008.

FORFEITURE ALLEGATIONS
1. As a result of the offense set forth in Count One, the
defendants, shall jointly and severally forfeit to the United States any and all
property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds obtained, directly
or indirectly, as a result of that offense, and all property traceable
to such property, and all interest and proceeds traceable thereto.

2. As a result of the offense set forth in Count Two, the
defendants, shall forfeit to the United States any and all property involved in that
offense, and property traceable to such property, and all interest and
proceeds traceable thereto.

SUBSTITUTE ASSETS

3. If any of the property described in paragraphs 1 and 2 above
as being subject to forfeiture, as a result of any act or omission of the
defendants,
a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third
person;
c. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the Court;
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or
e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be
subdivided without difficulty;
it is the intent of the United States, pursuant to Title 21, United
States Code Section 853(p) to seek forfeiture of any other property of
the defendants up to the value of the property charged with forfeiture
in paragraphs 1 and 2 above,

Rod J. Rosenstein
United States Attorney

Quote: AcesAndEights

And currently, when you click on the "Payout" option for Bovada, you see this:
This message has been on the payout page for at least a couple of days, so it predates the news stories above.

I have a Bovada account also and saw the message yesterday, which
is when the current mess started. I'm worried that Ayre claims Bodog
has been dormant in N America since last May, yet a Fed was betting
it and getting paid last month. How is that possible if they weren't
taking bets since last May. This has got to effect Bovada, its the same
company, just different domain names. Are we looking at PokerStars
all over again?

Quote: pacomartin

Bodog indictment

Quote:

5. Members of the conspiracy communicated in person, by
telephone, and by email with employees of a media reseller that was
located in the United States.

6. Through these communications, members of the conspiracy
caused the media reseller to create and execute an advertising campaign
to increase the participation by gamblers in the United States on the
BODOG.com website.

7. Through these communications, members of the conspiracy
caused the media reseller to send invoices to BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com. These invoices represented the costs and fees for
the creation and execution of the advertising campaign.

ummm, ah, what the... not a lawyer myself... but , uh, hmmmm.

Quote: odiousgambit

ummm, ah, what the... not a lawyer myself... but , uh, hmmmm.

Yes, I read that over and over as well, wondering what it means.
What do the advertisers have to do with anything. Is there a
lawyer around here?

This news flash came out at noon and says Ayre has
been arrested in Canada! I'm not liking any of this...

Quote: EvenBob

This news flash came out at noon and says Ayre has
been arrested in Canada! I'm not liking any of this...

Jesus. Who are the real criminals? The people booking bets, or the thugs who arrest them?

Money laundering is illegal and should be prosecuted. But the negative stigmatism with online gambling in this country is just crap. I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of it being a felony in my state.

I agree 100%. Online sports should be legal and taxed on winnings just like all other forms of gambling.

If nothing else, this is complete disaster for the revenue for this site. I guess.

Quote: EvenBob

This news flash came out at noon and says Ayre has
been arrested in Canada! I'm not liking any of this...

Arrest warrants have been issued, but I'd guess he's nowhere close to Canada right now.
Edit: Here's a post from CalvinAyre.com

Gee Calvin, did you not think anybody at the Justice Department read Forbes ??

He was the subject of a 2006 Forbes cover story titled Catch Me If You Can, in which he said “we run a business that can’t actually be described as gambling in each country we operate in. But when you add it together, it’s Internet gambling.”

Prosecutors say the investigation was led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore and also involved the Internal Revenue Service, Anne Arundel County Police and Maryland State Police.

Why is it the IRS scares me most ?

Quote: EvenBob

Yes, I read that over and over as well, wondering what it means.
What do the advertisers have to do with anything. Is there a
lawyer around here?

I ain't no lawyer, but on Craigs list the girls offer escort services, not prostitution. Seems Bodog was advertising for gamblers !

I just got an e-mail for Bovada telling me to deposit...

Um, I might need to wait on that a bit.

Quote: FinsRule

I just got an e-mail for Bovada telling me to deposit...

Um, I might need to wait on that a bit.

Might wanna hold up on betting the Derby, eh.

twinspires.com, perfectly legal.

The Bovada poker site is still up and I just bet on Yonkers.

We are aware of both the seizure of the domain Bodog.com on Monday and the indictment against Calvin Ayre released this morning. Please be assured that neither of these have in any way affected the operations of Bovada and it’s very much business as usual. The account details and funds of our players remain totally secure. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us at 1-888-263-0000 or service@bovada.lv.

If you are having any trouble accessing payout options on the website, please send us your account number in a Private Message and we will take a look into it for you.

Quote: BovadaService

Please be assured that neither of these have in any way affected the operations of Bovada and it’s very much business as usual.

But you're doing EXACTLY what Bodog got indicted for,
taking sports bets. Two months ago you WERE Bodog.
How can you say everything is just fine when you have no
idea what the Fed's are doing behind the scenes. How
can you not be in trouble too. Or about to be in trouble.

We all know deep down the risks associated with these sites and have been warned, so when something like this happened there is no reason to be shocked. As I have with Full Tilt Poker, any and all money still deposited should be considered lost.

FWIW the payout option has returned to the Bovada website...

Got this when googling BODOG

Why this ad?

BodogBodogg - Get up to $900 DepositBonus
www.bodogbodogg.com/
Join Bo Dog Now.

Talk about self incrimination ??

This is what you see at bodog.com:

Well bodog.com has not been a $play site since long before Black Friday. It was Bodog.eu for ages. Then mid December it became Bovada.lv. So for a few years now bodog,com was a link to the free play site.
I as a online player am glad to see this. Every Time this happens it is one more step to legal on line gaming.

I think legal on-line gaming will face the same hurdle in Baltimore that illegal ones do. I mean, if the local cops do not get a piece of the action, on-line is not about to happen !

Not specifically related to this thread, but a general complaint on Bovada...

On the payout page where you initiate a Rapid Transfer payout, it says "Fees: See chart below." Except there is no chart. And the fee is $60!!! Of course they cover your fee when you deposit, which is $20, but when you want a payout, they triple the fee the 3rd party charges and lay it on you. Good times.

I will be complaining via phone since the fee isn't even stated.

Excuse this dumb question, but does Calvin Ayre have any current involvement with bovada.lv , or is it just an enterprise that he sold?

Wikipedia has the following statement
On December, 2011 the group (i.e. Morris Mohawk Gaming Group) ceased operation of any Bodog-branded websites and transitioned all operations to a new domain name, Bovada.lv.

Excuse this dumb question, but does Calvin Ayre have any current involvement with bovada.lv , or is it just an enterprise that he sold?

Wikipedia has the following statement
On December, 2011 the group (i.e. Morris Mohawk Gaming Group) ceased operation of any Bodog-branded websites and transitioned all operations to a new domain name, Bovada.lv.

Quote: pacomartin

Excuse this dumb question, but does Calvin Ayre have any current involvement with bovada.lv , or is it just an enterprise that he sold?

Wikipedia has the following statement
On December, 2011 the group (i.e. Morris Mohawk Gaming Group) ceased operation of any Bodog-branded websites and transitioned all operations to a new domain name, Bovada.lv.

The CEO of MMGG said in an interview in 2009, talking
in reference to Bodog:

"The only minimal contact I have with him (Ayre) anymore
is in his role as one of the stakeholders in the brand licensing
organization in Antigua, or if I reach out to him to talk about
something specific. Other than that, for good or for ill, the buck
stops here."

Calvin Ayre might be the major 'stakeholder', who knows. The
Fed's say he was in involved right up to 2012, so they must know
something we don't.

The indictment says "From at least on or about June 9, 2005,
through at least January 6, 2012" the four men indicted were
involved with Bodog. This flies in the face of everything you
can find about the company on the net. Supposedly Ayre
hasn't been directly involved with the company for years. Its
all very confusing.

The shell game didn't work apparently...

I was thinking that Calvin Ayre is the first billionaire from the northern Americas that I have ever heard of being arrested, but a quick search reveals that Victor Dahdaleh, also a Canadian was arrested in Britain on October 28, 2011 on bribery and corruption charges.


Texas billionaire Allen Stanford arrested in U.S. in June 18, 2009 on a accused of a $9.2 billion fraud by U.S. regulators. He was badly beaten by another inmate in 2010.


I don't think Bernie Madoff was considered to be a billionaire, but I am not sure


Any other billionaires from Northern America that you can think of?

Whats even more confusing is, it was only Bodog.com
that got seized. Bodog.eu and Bodog.uk did not. If
you click on those sites, you're redirected to Bovada.
What going to be confusing is, a lot of Bodog customers
(most?) still use the Bodog.com address in their bookmarks
to get to Bovada because it takes you there immediately.
When you click that link now, the DOJ page comes up.
This can't be good for the Bovada brand, they just
started 10 weeks ago.

Quote: EvenBob

Whats even more confusing is, it was only Bodog.com
that got seized. Bodog.eu and Bodog.uk did not.

.uk and .eu domains are ouside of US jurisdiction.

Yes, thats why its confusing. Bodog still exists, you can
Google it and there it is. You can click on it and it shows
you where Bovada is.

It's simple redirection. You purchase a domain name, and when someone connects to the website, it runs a script that redirects the page to another website. Many companies use it to protect typo's leading to phishing. Another use is when you change domains.

If Bovada has any sort of connection to Bodog(which is does...they are the same company), you can expect that Bovada will be taken down shortly. My guess is before 2013. Anyone want to take an over/under on that (-110) ;)

Quote: Triplell

If Bovada has any sort of connection to Bodog(which is does...they are the same company), you can expect that Bovada will be taken down shortly.

If Bodog was busted for letting Americans gamble, and Bovada,
which is essentially the same company, allows American bettors,
how can they not get busted. I have an account there, I want
to continue it, but lets be realistic here. Can we get assurances
from credible sources that this isn't going to happen?

Quote: EvenBob

Can we get assurances from credible sources that this isn't going to happen?

I think that is unrealistic. The DOJ took 6 years to make that case. There is no outside source that can tell you what the DOJ is planning?

Why is it that gambling is illegal again? Is it the people can't control themselves and are being "taken advantage" of bullcrap line or is it, we must protect the children blah blah line? I just fail to see the logic. If it can create tax revenue, and can be controlled so that minors have no access, than....why is it illegal? Bah.

A friend of mine, the cowboy, got busted in a raid on poker room in Colorado, in the late 80's.
He said he was charged with the ultimate crime " Recreation Without Taxation"

When gambling was legalized in 1990, you could get a gambling license to be a dealer, manager, slots etc even if you were an axe murderer who killed Mom and 7 siblings. Any felony as long as you had served your sentence plus 5 years. Who could not get one ?
Anybody who was ever convicted of a gambling misdemeanor !!!

Quote: YoDiceRoll11

Why is it that gambling is illegal again? Is it the people can't control themselves and are being "taken advantage" of bullcrap line or is it, we must protect the children blah blah line? I just fail to see the logic. If it can create tax revenue, and can be controlled so that minors have no access, than....why is it illegal? Bah.

Why is driving 31 mph on my street illegal? Why is marijuana illegal? Why is it illegal for my corporation to donate $6000 to a candidate for election? Why is it illegal to count cards at blackjack?(Teasing Dan comment)... Why is adultery illegal (in some states)? Why is..... Because we have elected officials, who we have given authority, to make these laws.... If you don't like the laws, lobby your elected officials to change them...... or vote in new ones who will do so...

Not a question of if, but when. Nice timing on selling Bodog, don't you think LOL

Quote: SOOPOO

Why is driving 31 mph on my street illegal?

Potential reaction time windows decrease as speed increases, plenty of injury accidents to back this up. Bad analogy.

Quote:

Why is marijuana illegal?

Don't care.

Quote:

Why is it illegal for my corporation to donate $6000 to a candidate for election?

Shouldn't be in my opinion.

Quote:

Why is it illegal to count cards at blackjack?(Teasing Dan comment)...

It isn't illegal, yes I get your joke.

Quote:

Because we have elected officials, who we have given authority, to make these laws.... If you don't like the laws, lobby your elected officials to change them...... or vote in new ones who will do so...

Thanks for the tip. I do understand your point, I have experience with criminal and civil law. Just venting.

Quote: YoDiceRoll11

Why is it that gambling is illegal again? Is it the people can't control themselves and are being "taken advantage" of bullcrap line or is it, we must protect the children blah blah line? I just fail to see the logic. If it can create tax revenue, and can be controlled so that minors have no access, than....why is it illegal? Bah.

In the beginning, federal law traditionally focused on areas where there was an express grant of power to the federal government in the federal Constitution, like the
• military,
• money,
• foreign affairs (especially international treaties),
• tariffs,
• intellectual property (specifically patents and copyrights), and
• mail.
  
  Since the start of the 20th century, aggressive interpretations of the Commerce and Spending Clauses of the Constitution have enabled federal law to expand into areas like
• aviation,
• telecommunications,
• railroads,
• pharmaceuticals,
• antitrust, and
• trademarks.

Federal courts cannot dictate the content of state law when there is no federal issue (and thus no federal supremacy issue) in a case.

So laws regarding gambling are clearly a matter of state law. All but two states (Hawaii and Utah) permit some form of gambling, but nearly all states regard gambling as a major way to raise revenue. Nevada traditionally regarded gambling as an engine to encourage development.

So the federal government can only enforce Maryland's right to limit gambling, but they are investigating their own rules regarding movement of money.

As far as I know, a state can legally authorize internet gaming, but they would be responsible to keep it within the state. The technical problems would be difficult, and it is generally easier to police brick and mortar casinos.

" All but two states (Hawaii and Utah) permit some form of gambling " Now I really feel old. I used to sell Irish Sweepstakes
tickets as a teenager.

Quote: buzzpaff

Not a question of if, but when. Nice timing on selling Bodog, don't you think LOL

But was the company itself sold? The Bodog brand was
sold in 2007 to MMGG, just the American brand, Bodog.com,
not the other domains like Bodog.eu.. And if MMGG owned
Bodog since 2007, why did Ayre get indicted and not MMGG??
Does anybody understand any of this?

Certainly he would not lie about it. I mean if you can't trust him, who can you trust ??
Ayre, now 50, was born in Lloydminster, Sask. He was the son of a pig farmer. In Grade 6, he moved with his parents to Salmon Arm, where he spent his formative years.

In 1987, he was implicated in a marijuana-trafficking ring. He was not charged, but his father and brother-in-law received lengthy jail terms. In 1996, he got into trouble with the B.C. Securities Commission and was suspended from the B.C. securities market for 20 years. That suspension is still in effect.