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A federal grand jury in Baltimore Maryland has indicted Bodog Entertainment Group S.A d/b/a Bodog.com and four individuals involved with the group including Bodog Brand founder Calvin Ayre, James Philip, Dave Ferguson and Derek Maloney, all from Canada. The Feds 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 federal prosecutors are alleging that that the group conspired to pay over $100 Million in sports gambling winnings to winning sports bettors by wire and checks through payment processors located within the United States.
In addition to paying millions to winning gamblers, Bodog Entertainment S.A. is accused spending $42 million of dollars through an unnamed media company to advertise directly to gamblers based in the United States.
The indictment tells of the feds using undercover agents to set up Bodog.com accounts via an undercover computer in the State of Maryland. The undercover agents would deposit through an ewallet, gamble on sports and then cash out their winnings via check or ** withdrawal.
Along with the undercover agents, the Federal investigators are relying on a former employee who was acting as a confidential informant during July 2010 who named the top directors and explained how the group allegedly operated.
This indictment is another notch in the belt of the proverbial pissing match between Assistant United States Attorney Richard C. Kay, based in Maryland and US Attorney, Preet Bharara, based in Manhattan. The two have been attacking gambling sites aggressively over the past year with Preet Bharara bringing the infamous Black Friday indictments against Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker. Richard Kay for his part had his hand in the Blue Monday indictments, which targeted 10 Central American sportsbooks, including BetEd.
I’ve contacted Calvin Ayre concerning the indictments and he released this statement,
“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”
We will have more to come, including exclusive interviews with Calvin Ayre, as this story develops.
BAUSComment -
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They will get him
Becky could be in hot water alsoComment -
Becky if u need a place to stay...
Call meComment -
fuk the usaComment -
[ATTACH]38519[/ATTACH]Comment -
total bull shit.Comment -
Was Becky the confidential informant?Comment -
he was afraid of the feds 9-10yrs ago - he came incognito to the 1st Rx bashComment -
finally, it's a good dayComment -
shes probably in witness protcetion right nowComment -
Dojbecky now?Comment -
Is Bovada ok coach? Is our money safe?Comment -
What does this mean for other sportbooks that operate for u.s. customers, ie bookmaker, 5 dimes etc...Comment -
" Freedom ain't free" , George W.Comment -
Which Cognito was it he came in? I heard him and Eddy Cognito were an item around that time, but there was also some time spend with the brother Tony.Comment -
Clearly they are all targets.
How successful the US is in seizing/shutting them down only time will tell.
If you are in the US and want to play then you have to take that risk.
Anyone else should seriously consider whether holding funds in any book serving the US market is worth that risk when there are such good options as Pinnacle, SBO, Greek, Betfair and Matchbook available to them.Comment -
I dont think it will matter for him he has a billion to back him up, money talks here. Even so how will they make him come here?
The outcome with this whole situation with Bodog will show u guys if this whole domain .eu stuff really holds up, as it really seams that protects the books as long as they are not a .com or such. All this pressure from the government might of screwed them in the end.Comment -
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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.Comment -
hmmm....Comment -
Since I havent seen JJ say it in here yet, I will...... "Business as Usual"...
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Just read this at another forum:
And currently, when you click on the "Payout" option for Bovada, you see this:Quote: BovadaThis message has been on the payout page for at least a couple of days, so it predates the news stories above.
Payouts Are Not Available At The Moment
For more information please contact Customer Service.
Still a little worrisome, though.Comment -
According to CBS 75 bank accounts were seized. That can't be good.Comment -
They were referring to the poker sites shut down last year - not Bodog. "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."
Scroll down in this article from last April and you'll see. http://articles.businessinsider.com/...absolute-pokerComment
