US Owes Antigua $120 Million in Damages Over WTO Online Gambling Dispute
In 2007 The World Trade Organization (WTO) demanded the United States government pay restitution to the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua after the later won a judgment against Uncle Sam. Antigua essentially accused the USA back then of protectionism and engaging in unfair competitive practices as it pertained to the Caribbean nation’s role in regulating what is now a multi-billion dollar online gambling industry.
Instant Banking for Online Gambling Could Return to US Soon
There may be a new payment processor in town for those in the US online gambling community.
ADI-News.com has reported on the merger of two big name payment processors, Mazooma and BigPoint.
From ADI-News.com:
Maryland Now Allows Gambling on Fantasy Sports: Life Behind Bars for Booking NFL Games
As Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre, 50, faces more than 25 years behind prison for running one of the largest online sports betting enterprises and targeting residents of Maryland, that state has just begun allowing wagers on fantasy sports. Exceptional timing!!! We can't make this stuff up even if we tried.
Former Bookie Smothered in Bed: Wife and Daughter Sentenced to Life
The wife and daughter of a retired bookmaker, Don Banfield, have been found guilty of smothering the man to death for his insurance money.
Former tax inspector Shirley Banfield, 64, and her daughter Lynette, 40, admitted to two charges of conspiracy to defraud and charges of forgery as well as the perverting of course of justice, though they denied murdering Banfield 11 years ago.
The pair pocketed more than £120,000, some of which went into the purchase of their Canterbury, England home.
ScAYREy Fact: Bodog Founder’s Attorney Slotnick had Not Lost a Case in 12 Years
News of Bodog founder Calvin Ayre hiring the father-son tandem of Barry and Stuart Slotnick to represent him in a criminal case filed by the US Attorney’s Office in Maryland might not have resonated throughout the industry the way it should have. Hardly any industry media outside of Gambling911.com really reported on this story.
iMEGA Files Notice of Appeal Regarding Kentucky Domain Seizure
The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (IMEGA) has submitted a Motion of Appeal regarding the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s attempt to seize 141 Internet domain names related to online gambling, some of which are no longer being utilized or have since been seized by the US Justice Department.
On March 8, Judge Thomas Wingate ruled that no party with adequate standing had presented themselves to contest the forfeiture order issued nearly four years ago.
Palms Casino Prepares to Open New Sportsbook
The fabulous Palms Casino is preparing to open a brand new state-of-the-art sportsbook.
BetOnline.ag Opens Its Doors
BetOnline is excited to announce that on Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 they will transfer all of their accounts to the website www.BetOnline.ag.
New Jersey Plans to Take Online Bets From Across US but Utah Can Fugetaboutit
A signature piece of legislation that would make New Jersey the second state to offer online gambling within its own borders made it through a state Senate subcommittee with ease despite earlier concerns of potential opposition. Nevada became the first late last year but its law hinges heavily on a federal ban on Internet gambling being lifted.
New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill Passes Senate Committee
(Associated Press) - An Internet gambling bill approved by a New Jersey Senate committee Tuesday would let Atlantic City casinos take bets from gamblers in other states and even other countries, as long as federal and state authorities agree it’s legal.
New Jersey has been racing to try to get Internet gambling up and running and stake an early claim to leadership in a potential multi-billion-dollar industry.
But even as the bill edges closer to approval, and supporters try to address legal concerns that led Gov. Chris Christie to veto it last year, its scope is growing.
Trump News Causes 888 Holdings Shares to Surge
Overnight news that real estate and casino mogul Donald Trump is in talks with 888 Holdings to potentially offer “real money” online poker play in the US has sent that company’s shares surging to a 56-week high of 65 pence earlier in the day. New Jersey, which is home to a handful of Trump-branded casino establishments, is looking to become a hub for the regulated online poker industry.
New York Times: The Neighborhood Bookie Gets High Tech and Goes Pay Per Head
This weekend, the New York Times featured a good article on the local bookies and how they have reinvented themselves by going online.
From The Times:
The basic setup is simple: Instead of taking a phone call from every hopeful bettor, the bookie directs his clients to a Web site, where bets can be recorded, tracked and totaled. The bookie can then log on and see who owes — or is owed — money in the coming week.
William Hill Having Tough Time Getting Nevada License: Under Intense Scrutiny
One of the United Kingdom’s biggest bookmakers is having a rough go at breaking into the US market.
European companies are looking to forge relationships with US-based casinos in an effort to get a leg's up in the critical US regulated online gambling market....once it opens up.
Betfair to Introduce New Brand: Enters Fixed-Odds Market
The world’s largest betting exchange, Betfair, has announced its intention to enter the lucrative fixed-odds market.
888.com Reports Full Year Earnings Nearly Doubling
(Reuters) - British online gaming company 888 Holdings' full-year earnings nearly doubled, helped by strong growth of its casino and poker offering, and the company named Brian Mattingley as chief executive.
The company, which operates 888 casino, poker, sport and bingo brands, said it planned to invest in several newly regulated markets across Europe and the United States.
More Britons prefer to stay at home, watching TV and gambling online, updates from consumer-facing companies showed, amid fears that the UK will slip back into recession.
Sportingbet Looking to Re-enter US Market After Paying Fine to US Government
Reuters was reporting that Sportingbet, one of Europe’s biggest online gambling firms, has made a final payment of $6 million to the U.S. Justice Department, as per a settlement reached in 2010 over alleged illegal Internet gambling, and said that it was exploring opportunities to re-enter the market.
Matchbook Betting Exchange Looks to Expand in Europe, Asia With Multi-Currencies
Matchbook Betting Exchange is delighted to announce the release of their new multi-currency platform. This will allow all customers to bet in Euro, Sterling, Canadian and Hong Kong Dollars, as well as the previously available US Dollars. Since being newly acquired in early 2011, there has been heavy investment in the product and this is the first of a number of exciting announcements, including a fully functional mobile application, to come in the next few months.
William Hill to Open Talks With Playtech Following Tel Aviv Debacle
(Reuters) - William Hill (WMH.L) is to open talks with Playtech (PTEC.L) this month to try to salvage the companies' joint online venture following a breakdown in relations last year, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Bwin.Party Formally Applies for Nevada Internet Poker License
Bwin.Party, the world’s largest real money gambling firm, has officially filed for a Nevada state Internet poker license.
Nevada looks to allow intrastate online poker in the coming months following passage of legislation late last year. Nevada could incorporate multi-state pacts in the future as well. Ultimately, the state was looking to become a hub for online poker companies following the passage of a federal law, however, many experts now believe the industry will develop exclusively at the local state level.
Horse Racing Group Won’t Oppose New Jersey Bill to Make State Hub for US Online Gambling
New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak believes his co-authored legislation to make the Garden State an Internet gambling hub should pass on March 15 with actual money play likely by September.
Bodog Shuts Down Costa Rica Office
Bodog has shut down its Costa Rica based office. Employees reported arriving to find they were locked out.
The company still operates from bases outside of Montreal, Quebec, Antigua and in London.
Memo to Calvin Ayre: Head for Hong Kong…or Zimbabwe!
They say Laos is lovely this time of year.
So are Qatar, Angola and Nepal.
Vietnam gets a little hot, however, as does Cambodia and Indonesia.
And of course Libya, Tunisia and Syria are hot spots right now too, but in a different way.
For Canadian billionaire and Bodog.com founder Calvin Ayre, however, these Third-World hell-holes might be looking like islands of paradise right about now.
Pirates Come to Ayre’s Defense
The Pirate Party of Canada has lashed out at the US Government’s indictment of native son and Bodog founder, Calvin Ayre.
Techdirt.com: Federal Agents Did Not Gamble on Bodog.com
An interesting argument was raised by a colleague of Gambling911.com Tuesday following the indictment of Bodog.com and four individuals connected to the company.
The US Attorneys Office in Maryland announced the indictment Tuesday immediately following the seizure of the Bodog.com domain.
Almost Paradise: Poker Site Sees Sharp 33 Percent Decline
Paradise Poker, once among the top three largest Internet card rooms in the world, witnessed a sharp decline in revenues of 33 percent in the first 6 months of its financial year to end January 2012.
The company, which is owned by sports betting powerhouse Sportingbet Plc, called the current poker market conditions “challenging”.
Poker makes up 6.0 percent of gross gaming revenue.
Sportingbet overall recorded a loss for the period.
Ayre Don’t Care: Bovada, Bodog Say Business as Usual
Following an indictment against Bodog founder Calvin Ayre Tuesday after a year’s long investigation into online sports betting, Ayre told his own self-named news website his life won’t be impacted.
Bodog, Calvin Ayre, et al. Indictment (Full Court Document)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :
v.
BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com, CALVIN AYRE, JAMES PHILIP,
DAVID FERGUSON, and DERRICK MALONEY,
Defendants.
Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre Indicted
Federal prosecutors in Baltimore on Tuesday unsealed an indictment against Calvin Ayre following the seizure of the Bodog.com domain name late Monday night. Ayre was profiled in the cover story of the Forbes Billionaire issue.
A press release was expected by the US Attorney’s Office out of Maryland shortly.
Defendants in Hellinger Case to Reach Plea Agreement Tuesday
Gambling911.com has learned that defendants in an online gambling case dating back to 2005 are set to enter pleas on Tuesday.
The US Attorney’s Office in Eastern Pennsylvania charged Don Hellinger and four other men with illegal distribution of over $40 million in Internet gambling winnings during the years 2005 and 2006 through a money transfer company, Payment Processing, Inc. Hellinger was also alleged to have been involved in mail fraud.
Bodog.com Domain Seizure ‘Dog’ Years in the Making
The sudden seizure of the Bodog.com domain name late Monday night was not so sudden, Gambling911.com can reveal, nor was it exactly easy to achieve.
The US Attorney’s Office in Maryland, which was responsible for a series of online gambling company domain seizures last May, had been probing Bodog and the company’s colorful founder, Calvin Ayre, since 2003.
