Feds seize gambling site Bodog, indict founder

Feb 29, 2012, 7:19 am (49 comments)

Online Gambling

BALTIMORE, Md. — The sports gambling site Bodog was shut down and four Canadians indicted, including founder Calvin Ayre, for illegal gambling that generated more than $100 million in winnings, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The website's domain name was seized Monday and the indictments, which were returned Feb. 22, were unveiled Tuesday in Baltimore, prosecutors said.

The indictments follow federal prosecutions last year of three of the biggest websites involved in online poker. More than 75 company bank accounts in 14 countries have been frozen, and authorities are seeking $3 billion in fines and restitution, in that investigation.

In addition to the 50-year-old Ayre, prosecutors say the indictment names website operators James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney.

Gamblers in Maryland and elsewhere were sent a least $100 million by wire and check from 2005 to 2012, the U.S. Attorney's office said, adding Bodog conducted a $42 million advertising campaign between 2005 and 2008 to attract gamblers to the Bodog.com website.

The operation allegedly moved funds from Bodog's accounts located in Switzerland, England, Malta, Canada and elsewhere to pay winnings to gamblers. The four Canadians face up to five years in prison for conducting an illegal gambling business and 20 years for money laundering. Bodog.com faces a fine of up to $500,000 for gambling and money laundering. Initial appearances for the individuals have not been scheduled.

Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Baltimore, said the four are not in custody. Spokeswoman Vickie LeDuc said later Tuesday that arrest warrants had been issued for the four.

An affidavit filed along with the warrant to seize the site said investigators created accounts with Maryland addresses and received checks in the mail for winnings. The affidavit also said investigators interviewed a former Bodog employee who named top officers and directors and said the company had hundreds of employees in Canada and Costa Rica handling day-to-day operations.

"Sports betting is illegal in Maryland, and federal law prohibits bookmakers from flouting that law simply because they are located outside the country," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. "Many of the harms that underlie gambling prohibitions are exacerbated when the enterprises operate over the internet without regulation."

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. HSI agents seized the domain name on Monday.

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

Thanks to four4me for the tip.

AP

Comments

lottoguru$-!624

I thought the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to be looking for dangerous people? Do they have their priorities str8?  Never heard of many threatening canadians or costa ricans...

Oh yeah they do have their priorities str8, a desire to repossess the wealth and assets of others...3 billion dollars worth.

TheOtherOne's avatarTheOtherOne

I have to say I hope these guys all get away scot free. They weren't FORCING these gamblers to spend their money or gamble online.

So if they hadn't dealt with gamblers in Maryland 'and elsewhere', could the Feds have even arrested them?

I think the Feds should go after real criminals...

Lottery Playa

So if I understand it properly, the owners of this gambling site ran a business, advertised like any other business, paid it's winnings to its winners. Seems like someone I would want to do business with. Those would be the things I would look for in dealing with a company of some type. 

Last I looked, I didn't have any off or unpleasant dealings with people who were stealing, acting out of control or any other undesirable behaviour from anyone who was a customer of this gambling site. 

If people choose to spend their money there, who is the Government to tell them no... How is it that government can dictate to how one spends his/her money if that person is NOT infringing on any rights of any others. 

It's not like these people are out killing, robbing or raping anyone. They are NOT even committing any real crimes! So what's the deal?

As far as I can see, Government regulations barely help anything (except they help tremendously those who ARE politically connected). So how is it that the Government regulating them would help us again? I don't feel threatened or endangered whatsoever by this gambling company or it's customers, so what exactly is the issue again?

Oh that's right, the issue is CONTROL! The scum we call government that "claims" to work on our behalf, acts more like the Mafia and less like the government of "free People". 

I can honestly say that I hate this idea that Government can regulate anything it wants to. Regulation is the opposite of Freedom. 

What a bunch of bull! Leave the gambling company alone. They are NOT the criminals... The Federal Government sure is one LARGE criminal organization  though and unfortunately it's the one with the monopoly on the use of force too! 

How the government makes these guys out to be criminals is just so out of touch with reality. The Government is the TRUE criminal. And we the people are the true "Slaves" to the system that has been molded to keep us "Penned In" by men who have commandeered our Government on their behalf to "control" us little peasants and to guarantee their continued "forced" success because truth be told, lot's of these Wall St corporations would not exist if the Government wasn't forcing the rest of us to bail them out with money we don't have and forcing their monopolies upon us through unlawful laws! But that's what political connections buys.

Last time I looked, the biggest GAMBLING operation that was and is still "UNREGULATED" is all of these un-backed market derivatives, assets and default swaps created over the last decade worth approximately $60 TRILLION dollars. NOW that's a problem. I don't see any of those guys going to jail or having their assets frozen and taken over by the government. 3 Billion is a fraction of a fraction of the derivative market! But those guys keep getting bailout after bailout. Seems quite uneven to me! At least those who were running the gambling site didn't need any bailouts and were running a truly successful operation until the government screwed that all up. 

Government claiming authority to keep us safe from ourselves is very "police state" style government. 

This taking over of Internet sites is the FIRST step in squelching free speech and ideas. The US Government is desperately trying to make it legal to just shut down any site at will. All under the guise of terrorism or regulation! Any site that would be something the government does NOT approve of for us! LOL, who are they to decide what's right for me and what's not. 

We are at the beginning phases of the destruction of the "Free" Internet. This is very bad news indeed. And this is just one more casualty to add to the list. 

THE US GOVERNEMNT IS THE BIGGEST TERRORIST IN THE WORLD AT PRESENT! For what it does, is so beyond it's constitutionally delegated authorities!

What shall those do that value Liberty, freedom of association, freedom of contract, freedom of speech, freedom from unlawful searches and seizures, freedom from unlawful government force, freedom from having your privacy violated to the core, freedom from constant surveillance, freedom from the VIOLATION of your property rights, freedom from laws that make things that are NOT crimes into crimes, freedom from harassment by "law enforcement" enforcing their will upon us..... etc etc etc..... boy, how I long to be "truly" free!

As Patrick Henry Said, "

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”


How true..... sigh..... Unhappy

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Quote: Originally posted by lottoguru$-!624 on Feb 29, 2012

I thought the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to be looking for dangerous people? Do they have their priorities str8?  Never heard of many threatening canadians or costa ricans...

Oh yeah they do have their priorities str8, a desire to repossess the wealth and assets of others...3 billion dollars worth.

Canadians that want the US to function like Canada (socialized medicine, gun control .....) are a threat!

 

On a positive note: Roll Mega Millions Roll! ..........

About $60,000,000 wire transfer for a Pennsylvania Winner (no State or Local Taxes for us on Lottery Winnings) with about another $8,000,000 due by the end of the year without any tax mitigation!

Woo Hoo ............. Cheers

VenomV12

What's that saying about the government not wanting competition. Yeah...

Meanwhile the gangbangers and other criminals roam free.

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Lottery Playa on Feb 29, 2012

So if I understand it properly, the owners of this gambling site ran a business, advertised like any other business, paid it's winnings to its winners. Seems like someone I would want to do business with. Those would be the things I would look for in dealing with a company of some type. 

Last I looked, I didn't have any off or unpleasant dealings with people who were stealing, acting out of control or any other undesirable behaviour from anyone who was a customer of this gambling site. 

If people choose to spend their money there, who is the Government to tell them no... How is it that government can dictate to how one spends his/her money if that person is NOT infringing on any rights of any others. 

It's not like these people are out killing, robbing or raping anyone. They are NOT even committing any real crimes! So what's the deal?

As far as I can see, Government regulations barely help anything (except they help tremendously those who ARE politically connected). So how is it that the Government regulating them would help us again? I don't feel threatened or endangered whatsoever by this gambling company or it's customers, so what exactly is the issue again?

Oh that's right, the issue is CONTROL! The scum we call government that "claims" to work on our behalf, acts more like the Mafia and less like the government of "free People". 

I can honestly say that I hate this idea that Government can regulate anything it wants to. Regulation is the opposite of Freedom. 

What a bunch of bull! Leave the gambling company alone. They are NOT the criminals... The Federal Government sure is one LARGE criminal organization  though and unfortunately it's the one with the monopoly on the use of force too! 

How the government makes these guys out to be criminals is just so out of touch with reality. The Government is the TRUE criminal. And we the people are the true "Slaves" to the system that has been molded to keep us "Penned In" by men who have commandeered our Government on their behalf to "control" us little peasants and to guarantee their continued "forced" success because truth be told, lot's of these Wall St corporations would not exist if the Government wasn't forcing the rest of us to bail them out with money we don't have and forcing their monopolies upon us through unlawful laws! But that's what political connections buys.

Last time I looked, the biggest GAMBLING operation that was and is still "UNREGULATED" is all of these un-backed market derivatives, assets and default swaps created over the last decade worth approximately $60 TRILLION dollars. NOW that's a problem. I don't see any of those guys going to jail or having their assets frozen and taken over by the government. 3 Billion is a fraction of a fraction of the derivative market! But those guys keep getting bailout after bailout. Seems quite uneven to me! At least those who were running the gambling site didn't need any bailouts and were running a truly successful operation until the government screwed that all up. 

Government claiming authority to keep us safe from ourselves is very "police state" style government. 

This taking over of Internet sites is the FIRST step in squelching free speech and ideas. The US Government is desperately trying to make it legal to just shut down any site at will. All under the guise of terrorism or regulation! Any site that would be something the government does NOT approve of for us! LOL, who are they to decide what's right for me and what's not. 

We are at the beginning phases of the destruction of the "Free" Internet. This is very bad news indeed. And this is just one more casualty to add to the list. 

THE US GOVERNEMNT IS THE BIGGEST TERRORIST IN THE WORLD AT PRESENT! For what it does, is so beyond it's constitutionally delegated authorities!

What shall those do that value Liberty, freedom of association, freedom of contract, freedom of speech, freedom from unlawful searches and seizures, freedom from unlawful government force, freedom from having your privacy violated to the core, freedom from constant surveillance, freedom from the VIOLATION of your property rights, freedom from laws that make things that are NOT crimes into crimes, freedom from harassment by "law enforcement" enforcing their will upon us..... etc etc etc..... boy, how I long to be "truly" free!

As Patrick Henry Said, "

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”


How true..... sigh..... Unhappy

Beyond the illegal nature of the online gambling site, I think the next concern of the US government was all the lost tax revenue from the millions paid

out to Maryland residents. Beyond that I agree with everything you say. Big government intervention is almost always a losing proposition for the

rest of us hard working, tax paying patriotic Americans.  Patriot

temptustoo's avatartemptustoo

Anytime your making a buck... the government wants in on it...     This government needs to be cleaned out of all the corruption..

CDanaT's avatarCDanaT

Gotta admit that B.O. & the rest of the Gov boys sure wanna make certain that no dollar made doesnt get redistributed without their knowledge.... Which entity is the greedy one now ????  What?

mjwinsmith's avatarmjwinsmith

Where are the Maryland winners spending their winnings........M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D more than likely. Which means that they are helping to create jobs and helping the economy. The gosh dang governmet just don't get it.

Let the people do with their own money what the heck they want to and stay the heck out of the way.

-Michael

CARBOB

Why hasn't there been any indictments for the mortgage fiasco????

RedStang's avatarRedStang

Use to have alot of fun on bodog. The states are missing out of easy profits by not legalizing it online. I have a feeling trump and the other casinos have something to do with this. LOL,I see they have a new site already.

James1's avatarJames1

Old news. Bodog is now called Bovada and is still active

OldSchoolPa's avatarOldSchoolPa

NEWSFLASH:  Obama and the Democrat Party backs OWS protests against the 1% of wealth holders.  Last I checked, even Warren Buffett does not have a budget of 1 trillion dollars; oh, but the grand ol' US government has a budget of 1.3 trillion dollars.  So that would make President Obama the 1% and all the rest of us, including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the 99%.  So BO has indeed hoodwinked the OWS folks to camp out in town squares and Wall Street when they should have been camping out on the WH lawn.  Fools!

Just watched John Stossels, "Illegal Everything" on Fox and this action here by the government is confirmation of the fact the government is just looking for all the ways it can to make any and everybody criminals and dependent on the government itself. 

There are a number of things that need to be repealed when the new President takes over next year such as:

1. Repeal ObamaCare.

2. Repeal illegal gambling laws.

3. Repeal illegal drug laws (every last one of them; follow Portugals experience in which drug use actually decreased following decriminalization of drugs there).

4. Repeal prostitution laws.

5. Repeal Roe v Wade.

6. Repeal the repeal of DADT.

7. Repeal Dodd-Frank.

8. Repeal payment to former President Obama.

Okay, I just got on a roll and that sounded good!

I am sure we have some moralists who will disagree with any number of my calls for repeal, but no need to comment on that...just think about that when you are going about your day in early November.

New York's avatarNew York

This story is insane. That's good this illegal activity has come to an end. 

OBAMA 2012 Thumbs Up

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