Bodog Acquires Betwwts For 9 Mil

SBR_John · 10-19-06, 12:24 PM

The deal is still working. Those details will prove to be off but we all have our fingers crossed that it goes through.

Lets hope that report is more accurate than the one they posted the day before yesterday that WWTS was going to steal everyone's money or that BOS would open right before football.

Thats the problem with those gossip sites. They are wrong most of the time but they dont care if it can generate a little traffic.

Meanwhile, we are following the deal closely. We believe there will be an annoucement early this evening. Lets hope its a positive one.

Halifax · 10-19-06, 12:28 PM

John, if the deal goes through, would it include the buyer taking over only the U.S. customers, or would they be taking over all of the customers (American and International) ?

SBR_John · 10-19-06, 12:39 PM

I dont have first hand knowledge of that. It is my opinion that they will take over all accounts except possibly the white labels. Thats "IF" the deal closes and we are not out of the woods yet.

Dark Horse · 10-19-06, 12:44 PM

Without getting into specific numbers, could you confirm that WWTS had a rather large debt?

SBR_John · 10-19-06, 12:51 PM

There is some unusal debt that I dont fully understand. I think it might be chargebacks or bad debts from agents or something.

Otherwise, no, WWTS had very little debt outside of player liabilities(player money).

This deal is far more complicated that Sportsbook and VIP which both sold for $1. Thats why its taking time and thats why its chances of falling through are still real. To say they are just crossing t's is just not factual.

jjgold · 10-19-06, 01:02 PM

This just goes to show most books really are not doing well.

TLD · 10-20-06, 01:03 AM

Originally posted by SBR_John

We believe there will be an announcement early this evening. Lets hope it's a positive one.

So still no confirmation I take it?

As far as I can tell, so far the only claims being made that this is a done deal have been made by Shrink or people saying they heard it from Shrink, or heard it from someone who heard it from Shrink, etc.

I'll feel a lot better when we get some news that rises above forum rumors from one source. Until then there's too much of a chance Shrink will announce shortly, "Well, I was right when I posted what I posted, but then things changed. One side backed out after saying they had agreed [or lawyers got involved and said the deal wouldn't fly, or the US government put behind-the scenes pressure on one of the parties, etc.]."

psycho44 · 10-20-06, 04:18 AM

having $2-4 million dollars stashed away and maybe more, but who knows because it's all tax evasion, I'd say that is good. And man I want to be their software developer. To be owed $1 million, that must be a good thing.

SBR_John · 10-20-06, 05:47 AM

Originally posted by TLD

So still no confirmation I take it?

As far as I can tell, so far the only claims being made that this is a done deal have been made by Shrink or people saying they heard it from Shrink, or heard it from someone who heard it from Shrink, etc.

I'll feel a lot better when we get some news that rises above forum rumors from one source. Until then there's too much of a chance Shrink will announce shortly, "Well, I was right when I posted what I posted, but then things changed. One side backed out after saying they had agreed [or lawyers got involved and said the deal wouldn't fly, or the US government put behind-the scenes pressure on one of the parties, etc.]."

I thought we would of had something yesterday. I suspect we will know something today.

These deals are not done deals until an agreement is made. Other sites jumped when they found out they were meeting. The thirst to be first despite what is good for the players. Hits at any cost basically.

Should have some good news later in the day.

pags11 · 10-20-06, 06:06 AM

keep us updated John...

marc · 10-20-06, 10:02 AM

I find it very interesting that on monday, Betcorp posted a message on thier site saying that regualtiosn would require any sale to recieve shareholder approval, and now suddenly they are hoping to close the deal before kickoff on Sunday without shareholder approval

Yoshi · 10-20-06, 10:07 AM

Originally posted by SBR_John

I dont have first hand knowledge of that. It is my opinion that they will take over all accounts except possibly the white labels. Thats "IF" the deal closes and we are not out of the woods yet.

And betcorp had a lot of silly clone sites...1 of the reason i never liked them btw. Dont you think those "white labels" together had more active players than wwts itself?

SBR_John · 10-20-06, 10:37 AM

No, these white labels were very thin best that we can tell. At least we had very little feedback from players in their white labels.

LVHerbie · 10-20-06, 11:07 AM

just out of curiosity what is a white label? I've never heard this term before...

tacomax · 10-20-06, 11:23 AM

It's like a turnkey operation where someone can pay $x and get their "own" WWTS-powered sportsbook.

More details of this specific to WWTS here:

SBR Forum - Sports Betting Talk - Sportsbook Review Forum

http://forum.sbrforum.com/showthread.php?t=16523

Sports betting and handicapping forum: discuss picks, odds, and predictions for upcoming games and results on latest bets.

isetcap · 10-20-06, 12:00 PM

Originally posted by tacomax

It's like a turnkey operation where someone can pay $x and get their "own" WWTS-powered sportsbook.

More details of this specific to WWTS here:

http://forum.sbrforum.com/showthread.php?t=16523

Taco, you're such an Ass. You don't ever post anything helpful.

You also never post your picks. You don't belong here.

I just can't understand why you're such a respected poster.

SBR_John · 10-20-06, 12:25 PM

LOL.

Yoshi, turnkeys are also used by credit agents and onshore bookies. They may be bigger than I know because we would not get any feedback or complaints from a credit op.

Scorpion · 10-20-06, 12:57 PM

Looks like monday: From Gambling911.com

=======================================
BetCorp shares recover following announcement
Media in Australia reports that BetCorp shares staged a major recovery Friday after reports it had sold its US sports betting operation to a Costa Rican company for $US9 million ($A12 million).

The shares jumped 15¢ to 41¢ following the reports from US websites. Not much was expected from the sale after Sportingbet, listed in Britain, sold its US business for $US1 last week. The sale allowed it to discharge liabilities of $US13.2 million and avoid a closure bill of $US14 million, it said.

The rumoured buyer of Betcorp's WWTS business is Bodog, which does not plan to comply with the US ban on online gambling services.

Bodog.com founder Calvin Ayre said in a statement that "we've structured our business in such a way that we'll have no problems adapting to any changes in the online gaming environment. We see the future as very positive for Bodog.com."

Bodog confirmed to Gambling911.com that they were in the process of finalizing a deal with BetCorp but that the arrangement was still contingent upon shareholder approval.

An announcement was originally slated for Friday afternoon but due to the time difference between North America and the Australian continent, news is more likely to come out some time Sunday Eastern Standard Time, beginning the new work week in Australia.

Betcorp's US operation has been suspended since last week, when US President George Bush signed legislation restricting some forms of online gambling. Betcorp was expected to find a buyer by this weekend, but officials were not available for comment yesterday.

Gambling911.com first reported early this week that three parties were in talks with BetCorp about a possible purchase of its US facing business. On Wednesday morning, Gambling911.com first broke the news that a major industry player would be buying BetCorp's US facing brand.

"We did not release many details of this pending sale out of fear it would undermine the process and interfere with the payment of BetWWTS customers," commented Christopher Costigan, Founder of Gambling911.com.

Bodog.com has since informed Gambling911 that $9 million would be paid for BetWWTS.com's European infrastructure and that all US customers would be paid in full and encouraged to bet with the Bodog.com brand. Bodog, however, does not accept business from Canada. It is believed that BetCorp would retain the Canadian customer base.

BetCorp was placed in an unenviable position of having to answer to shareholders, the biggest of whom reportedly purchased shares the morning an internet gambling bill sailed through Congress as an attachment to a more vital port security bill.

Bodog.com representatives met with BetCorp in their Toronto marketing offices. Bodog has expressed interest in opening an office in Toronto to take advantage of the city's talented workforce. But Ontario is in the midst of trying to curtail online gambling itself.

Mirroring the position of US lawmakers, Jeff Leal of Ontario himself stated that the main concern with online gambling is that it is taking away revenue from the lotteries, race tracks and the video lottery terminals located at the racetrack, according to Hartley Henderson of MajorWager.com.

It is not known how any new legislation in Ontario might affect Bodog.com's plans to set up an office in the province.

---

SBR_John · 10-20-06, 01:22 PM

I understand that some of these sites get a little inside info and they view it as an opportunity to drive some traffic. This deal would probably be done if those entrusted with inside info would of held the players interest first and let the parties complete the deal without reading about it on gossip sites.

Now if the deal falls through will these sites accept any blame? Of course not. They could care less.

When you read "shareholder approval" it means will Billy(the former owner and holder of 35% of the common shares) OK this deal? I think he will. But Billy is an old school guy with a lot of pride who is tough to read. So there could easily be an Act II. Hopefully this deal will close and we have indications that it will.

Dark Horse · 10-20-06, 01:24 PM

I would consider Bodog quite risky. Ayre is too visible. If you'd ask the general public to come up with one individual that they associate with the industry it would be good ol' Calvin. I'd be willing to bet that:
1) We haven't seen the last arrest of a sportsbook CEO.
2) The sick f*cks in the US government would love to get their hands on Ayre.

InSpades · 10-20-06, 01:35 PM

Originally posted by Dark Horse

I would consider Bodog quite risky. Ayre is too visible. If you'd ask the general public to come up with one individual that they associate with the industry it would be good ol' Calvin. I'd be willing to bet that:
1) We haven't seen the last arrest of a sportsbook CEO.
2) The sick f*cks in the US government would love to get their hands on Ayre.

My thoughts exactly. However, would Ayre stiff bettors like apparently BOS is doing? Maybe I am naive, but I don't think he would.

IS

Dark Horse · 10-20-06, 01:44 PM

No, but it could hurt the company.

isetcap · 10-20-06, 01:44 PM

Calvin's got morals. No way he'd consider stiffing anyone. He's not just in this business for the money and fame. You can be sure that if things go south for Bodog and the handwriting's on the wall, Calvin will stick around and make sure every last player gets paid in full even if it means he has to sell all his women, boats, cars, and houses.

RickySteve · 10-20-06, 10:03 PM

Originally posted by jjgold

This just goes to show most books really are not doing well.

Players aren't doing well.

Books aren't doing well.

That's a lot of evaporating money, JJ. Do we need to get Tacomax, P.I. on the case?

RickySteve · 10-20-06, 10:10 PM

Originally posted by Dark Horse

I would consider Bodog quite risky. Ayre is too visible. If you'd ask the general public to come up with one individual that they associate with the industry it would be good ol' Calvin. I'd be willing to bet that:
1) We haven't seen the last arrest of a sportsbook CEO.
2) The sick f*cks in the US government would love to get their hands on Ayre.

Calvin is fully aware of this. He does not set foot on American soil, which should be a basic principle for any offshore bookmaker with a three digit IQ.

Dark Horse · 10-20-06, 10:31 PM

Would like his view on flying through American air space.

tacomax · 10-20-06, 10:34 PM

Originally posted by Dark Horse

Would like his view on flying through American air space.

Yeah, his flight to Canada needed to land in the US for "technical reasons" and he gets busted the minute he lands.

pags11 · 10-21-06, 01:41 AM

isetcap,

you might want to take tacomax's cock and balls out of your mouth...

JoshW · 10-21-06, 09:32 AM

My hope is Calvin has enough that even if the business went south he would pay, but honestly, in this environment, I wouldn't put too much faith in him. Couple years ago I didn't feel Bodog was safe because he was a stock market cheat, and I am starting to feel the same way again. If it was between him having 100 million and stiffing everyone and having 10 million and paying everyone out, what you do you think he would do?

RickySteve · 10-21-06, 04:24 PM

Originally posted by Dark Horse

Would like his view on flying through American air space.

Are you suggesting F15 fighter pilots will be ordered to intercept a jet in midair which may or may not contain Calvin Ayre?

Sam Odom · 10-21-06, 04:30 PM

Originally posted by lakerfan

Couple years ago I didn't feel Bodog was safe because he was a stock market cheat, and I am starting to feel the same way again. If it was between him having 100 million and stiffing everyone and having 10 million and paying everyone out, what you do you think he would do?

This is why SBR is way above any other forum!

Sam Odom · 10-21-06, 04:33 PM

Originally posted by InSpades

...would Ayre stiff bettors like apparently BOS is doing? Maybe I am naive, but I don't think he would.

YOU'RE NAIVE

pags11 · 10-23-06, 04:07 AM

Ayre would definitely stiff people if it came down to it...