Early Tuesday morning I happened across an article on CalvinAyre.com stating that Bodog.com had been seized by the Department of Homeland Security. While I was initially intrigued that there might be a story lurking, my initial thought proved correct: “Isn’t Bodog.com a dormant domain name?” The Bodog.com domain has been unused for nearly a year now, with Bodog moving to a .eu domain, while another site Bovada.lv took its place in the US market.

So why am I writing this all if it’s pretty much a non-story? Well, it seems the story developed over the course of the day, and Calvin Ayre, along with three other individuals, has been indicted by the Assistant US Attorney Richard C. Kay in Maryland.

According to CalvinAyre.com, the “indictment includes just two charges; count one, Conducting an Illegal gambling business from June 2006 to January 2012, count two, money laundering conspiracy over the same period.”

The undercover operation apparently saw agents setup Bodog.com accounts, place wagers, and then deposit and withdraw from the site. This evidence is being combined with testimony from a former employee of the site who detailed the hierarchy and methods used by Bodog to facilitate these payments.

While it’s obvious to anyone in the industry that Calvin Ayre still has some interest in the Bodog brand that he helped found and grow into a multi-million dollar online gaming company, nobody was/is quite sure what Ayre’s current role with Bodog might be, with guesses ranging from a spokesperson/figurehead type role to integrally involved in the running of the company.

Ayre released a statement through CalvinAyre.com, and in true Calvin Ayre fashion ended his statement by turning a US indictment for conducting an illegal gambling business and money laundering into a chance to expand his CalvinAyre.com brand and promote the website:

“I see this as abuse of the US criminal justice system for the commercial gain of large US corporations. It is clear that the online gaming industry is legal under international law and in the case of these documents is it also clear that the rule of law was not allowed to slow down a rush to try to win the war of public opinion.

“These documents were filed with Forbes magazine before they were filed anywhere else and were drafted with the consumption of the media as a primary objective. We will all look at this and discuss the future with our advisors, but it will not stop my many business interests globally that are unrelated to anything in the US and it will not stop my many charity projects through my foundation. You can also follow this story here on the number one global online gaming news and entertainment site and the only site I will be doing interviews with for the next while…CalvinAyre.com”

You have got to love a person writing and commenting on their own indictment on their personal website! We’ll keep you posted as this story develops.

Tags: bodog, calvin ayre, Commercial Gain, Conspiracy, Criminal Justice System, Department Of Homeland, Department Of Homeland Security, Domain Name, Early Tuesday, Gaming Company, Hierarchy, illegal gambling, Indictment, Kay, Money Laundering, Place Wagers, Richard C, Spokesperson, Tuesday Morning, Undercover Operation

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Breaking: Bodog.com seized and Calvin Ayre indicted”

1. Richard says:

   March 2, 2012 at 10:18 pm

   Have you noticed that the oh so brave Calvin Ayre is too frightened to go to Maryland to face the charges? Word is that he is hiding out in the Philippines because he is not a real man.

2. Steve Ruddock says:

   March 5, 2012 at 7:14 pm

   Hi Richard,

   I think anyone who feels they have not committed a crime (depending on one’s own moral code) would conduct themselves in a similar manner, no? Not that I’m saying he hasn’t run afoul of US laws on some level, but this seems to be an area of the current legal code (online gaming) that has a lot of “interpretation” and “gray area” involved since we are dealing with International and US laws which are often conflicting.