Late yesterday, the Bodog.com domain name was seized by the Department of Homeland Security, District of Maryland under a warrant under seal.Black friday, this time, unlike the seizure was initiated by the Department of national security and the FBI. What is a rather unusual with this new is that Bodog.com is no longer used since a long time. We bet that Bodog had planned the coup long in advance.
What are the consequences of this new?In the short term, it won't affect the activities of Bodog which is now available at Bodog.eu.
In an interview, Calvin Ayre, Bodog founder said: "I do not know what to say exactly. Bodog.com is an organisation based outside the United States. The brand has left the market last year and the subject matter is dormant for longer than that already. We do business currently outside the United States and as a result, this domain name has more room in our current plans."
Following this seized, Calvin Ayre was charged by U.S. authorities to practice illegal activities online gambling and money laundering. For these crimes, Ayre faces up to 20 years in prison and Bodog might have to pay a fine of up to $ 500,000.
Concerning the new attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein said: 'sports betting is illegal in Maryland and federal law prohibit the bookmakers to flout the law on the pretext that they are located abroad'.
In response to this before, Calvin Ayre has issued the following statement on his website:
"I see this as an abuse of the American criminal justice system for the benefit of big American corporations. It is clear that the online gaming industry is legal under international law and in the case of these documents, it is clear that the authorities have decided not to slow their actions with the aim of winning the war of public opinion. These documents have been filed with Forbes magazine before wherever it is elsewhere and were written in the first place destined for the media. We review this issue and study it with our lawyers, but this will not stop my many commercial interests in the world, which have no connection with the United States and this will not stop my many charitable projects through my Foundation."
Recall that Sportsbook.com, BetOnline.com and Merge Gaming Network (a rumor exists to the effect that this network would be owned by Sportsbook.com) all use a .com for doing business. Other sites like BetUS.com and LockPoker use a link to redirect traffic in a little more lenient countries with their laws.
This action is probably intended to intimidate the internationally approved companies.
For the moment, we have no more details on the history and we will send you the details as soon as they become available.
In closing, for informational purposes, since April 15 golden rule has not changed; PokerCollectif recommend to be careful with all the sites continuing to provide their services to US residents.
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