• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Awards
  • Privacy Policy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
TheDomains.com

Feds Not Only Seize The Domain Name Bodog.com But Indict The 4 Owners/Operators Including Calvin Ayre

February 28, 2012 by Michael Berkens

Last night Calvin Ayre broke the news that the domain name Bodog.com had been seized by the federal government.

Today the Feds broke the news to Mr. Ayre that he has been indicted along with three others described by the Feds as the “owners or operators of the site, Calvin Ayre, James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney.”

Ayre is accused of operating an illegal gambling business involving sports betting and conspiring to commit money laundering.

According to Forbes.com, “None of the men are in custody and they are believed to be in Canada.”

“According to the six-page indictment filed by Rosenstein, Ayre worked with Philip, Ferguson and Maloney to supervise an illegal gambling business from June 2005 to January 2012 in violation of Maryland law.”

“The indictment focuses on the movement of funds from accounts outside the U.S., in Switzerland, England, Malta, and Canada, and the hiring of media resellers and advertisers to promote Internet gambling.”

“Sports betting is illegal in Maryland, and federal law prohibits bookmakers from flouting that law simply because they are located outside the country,” Rosenstein said in a statement. “Many of the harms that underlie gambling prohibitions are exacerbated when the enterprises operate over the Internet without regulation.”

 

Filed Under: Legal

About Michael Berkens

Michael Berkens, Esq. is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheDomains.com. Michael is also the co-founder of Worldwide Media Inc. which sold around 70K domain to Godaddy.com in December 2015 and now owns around 8K domain names . Michael was also one of the 5 Judges selected for the the Verisign 30th Anniversary .Com contest.

« The Founder Of Flickr Maybe On The Other Side, As PinWeel.com Threatens Over PinWheel.com
Sedo Has Its Best Week Of The Year Selling Over 1,200 Domains for Over $3.5 Million Led By kboing.com For $150K »

Comments

  1. 1234 says

    February 28, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    The funniest (and saddest) thing was the narratives and abysmal ‘interpretations’ of the law people in the online gaming/poker world made during the good times… about how there was nothing to worry about, etc.

    Most regulatory offenses are defined by the people who toe the line, operate in the gray areas, who ultimately get prosecuted.

    One thing everyone should keep in mind is that if your rationalization for what you’re doing is based on whatever hypothetical defense you would raise in court should you be prosecuted for doing it, then you had damn well better be prepared to be prosecuted because eventually, you will be.

  2. Ron says

    February 28, 2012 at 1:22 pm

    It is funny, I think Calvin Ayre, grew up in the same area as Frank Schilling, and became a billionaire, simply amazing how these 2 from a small town have created so much. It all comes down to tax dollars, if he was paying a cut, nothing would be wrong with it according to the government.

  3. Ron says

    February 28, 2012 at 1:24 pm

    Here is an article on the way he lives:

    http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=d46ca742-2446-4be3-9d9e-eaa7c8d7ebc6

  4. Funny says

    February 28, 2012 at 1:26 pm

    Am I mis-informed or didn’t they lose the domain name sometime ago? Like a couple of years ago? I thought they rebranded with a new domain? No????

  5. asdf says

    February 28, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    @ Ron

    Lavish lifestyles are always a huge cue for ‘regulatory prosecution’, regardless of if you’re actually doing anything wrong. It’s the ‘hater’ part of human nature. Bureaucrats making $120,000 a year resent the man who makes $5,000,000 a year. Those are the people with the keys to the regulatory gate and they make their bones going after the ‘flagrant’, be they IRS agents, AUSAs, etc. It’s always been that way. Human nature will never change, regardless of what laws are written.

    If you live large , above the radar and in the limelight, you’re going to get fucked with.
    Period.

    The Koch Brothers, the Albrecht brothers (RIP Theo)- they have the right idea.

  6. steve says

    February 28, 2012 at 2:23 pm

    they are all rigged anyways.

  7. Ron says

    February 28, 2012 at 2:27 pm

    Yes, amazing, you can fill the roulette wheel on a online casino game, with every number except 0,00 and guess what hits, blackjack, never seen a dealer make so many 21’s showing a 6, on a player double down, how do you think he became a billionaire…

  8. Michael H. Berkens says

    February 28, 2012 at 3:36 pm

    Mr. Ayre has issued a statement since the indictment was made public:

    http://calvinayre.com/2012/02/28/legal/calvin-ayre-indicted-by-feds-calvin-ayre-releases-statement

  9. Nacho Domain says

    February 28, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    The Gov’t been a a bully on gambling.

    Time for a regime change…..all of ’em. Vote every incumbent out that does not support legalization of Internet gambling.

  10. Street kid says

    February 28, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    @asdf….the Koch brothers have the right idea??!! In regards to what? Being careless,greedy and completely unethical pricks. Just because someone makes a shitload of money should not grant them your admiration. How much they contribute not how much they take should be the benchmark. People are such money hungry morons.

  11. Dean says

    February 28, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    Stunning! his blog (Calvin Ayre’s) is one of my daily reads. If there is a bright side to this, it is that the US government is making a clean sweep of unregulated gaming and outside (the US) gaming interests in anticipation of online regulation (legalization) in about a years time. We will see.

  12. ghjk says

    February 28, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    the feds are using state law. that’s 50 states’ worth of statutes these online gambling moguls have to worry about. crazy.

    this is a dumb question but are the american indian tribes running online gambling websites? they have permission from the govt to run casinos, right? if they are not in the online gambling business, what is the reason?

  13. asdf says

    February 28, 2012 at 8:58 pm

    @ StreetKid

    I can only assume your IQ is low. You completely failed to follow along with a basic conversational flow and comprehend an equally basic implication. My point was, keeping private and as below the radar as possible. Only recently have the Koch Brothers been ‘outed’ for their activities. They had been influencing shit behind the scenes for years, with no one the wiser….

    No surprise you resent money. That comes from the same place that causes the other girls to resent the hottest cheerleader.

  14. Jp says

    February 28, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    This is all because they are getting ready to legalize internet gambling. Gotta knock out the competition first.


Recent Articles

  • ChatGPT.net sells for $8,900 at DAN.com
  • What is a fair sales commission rate?
  • TXT.com sells for $300K

Recent Comments

  • Charles on What is a fair sales commission rate?
  • zakaria on What is a fair sales commission rate?
  • Steve on What is a fair sales commission rate?
  • Steve on ChatGPT.net sells for $8,900 at DAN.com
  • Snoopy on What is a fair sales commission rate?

Categories

Archives

Copyright ©2022 TheDomains.com — Published by Worldwide Media, Inc. — Site by Nuts and Bolts Media