Calvin Ayre has Millions seized by US Goverment

August 1st, 2008

BODOG Seizures

Recently buzz has been going around about the $24,000,000 seized from bank accounts that can be traced back to BoDog. Bodog, an internet gambling website offering an online casino, poker room, and sportsbook, was founded by Canadian Calvin Ayre. Everyone has been wondering what this means to online poker as it currently stands under US law, and the bottom line is that it can’t be good. It means that the Federal Government has started to take action against online gambling sites. The seizures was a plan of the government to possibly shake the confidence of online gamblers, while at the same time informing the other gambling sites that they aren’t afraid to take action against these sites. Money has known to have been waken out of banks suck as Bank of America, SunTrust Bank, Wachovia, and banks part of the Regions Financial group. What does this mean for Ayre himself? Once again, it can not be good. It not only means he will have to fight for this $24M, but it also means that, with the federal government ready to take action, he may be their next target. Ayre seemingly skyrocketed to the top of the world with his position in Bodog Entertainment Group with his new found wealth. Ayre graced the cover of Forbes’s yearly issue of billionaires, claiming Bodog handled $7.3 billion in 2006. He has also been known to disregard the current online gambling laws, and the article on Ayre in that Forbes magazine was entitled ‘Catch Me If You Can.’
Since President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), laws have gotten stricter on Ayre and his company. After being on top of the world in 2006, Ayre wasn’t even listed as a billionaire in Forbes’s 2007 calculations. The government hasn’t stopped it’s actions against the online gambling world with their enforcement on Bodog. They have also enforced laws against Neteller for illegally carrying out transactions for online players. Many online gamblers remember when Neteller immediately shut its doors, seizing amounts of money from US players attempting to make these withdrawals. The lawsuit with Neteller ended with the company paying $9.1 million in fees to the government, a small fee for the $2 billion the company went through in illegal transactions for these online gamblers. The government has also put together many different lawsuits against other companies known for paying out to online gamblers, trying to blame international schemes using off shore companies for internet withdrawals. These are more ways for the government to deter online gambling: making it harder on players to get their money off of a site and into their hands.
Ayre himself wants nothing to do with the company now a days. In fact, he has claimed he has sold ownership of the company. However, even if this did take place, it doesn’t put Ayre in the clear. Nor does it mean the company will clean it’s name up. The $24M seized from the company has been taken in two parts. The first $14.2 million was seized in January and February. When the money was put up for appeal, neither the company or Ayre defended the amount. The government took this as a forfeit of the money. The next $9.9 million that has been seized is still in the hands of the federal government, and the next suit, ‘United States of America v. $9,869,283.05′ has been filed, and there is no word on if either Ayre or Bodog as a company will fight for the money.