Calvin Ayre and Bodog Negotiate a Settlement, All Charges Dropped

Good news for Calvin Ayre and the Bodog online gambling business came from the office of the US federal prosecutor, after all charges filed more than five years ago have been dropped.

Back in 2012, Bodog, Calvin Ayre and three other individuals were charged by the District of Maryland Attorney for illegal gambling and money laundering conspiracy.

Bodog was accused of offering gambling services to US-based consumers between 2006 and 2012, while the indictment stated the defendants illegally acquired more than $100 million and were facing up to 25 years in jail and $1 million in fines.

Finally Dropping the Charges

After the case remained inactive for half a decade, Chief Judge Catherine Blake accepted a resolution last week, effectively dismissing the charges against Calvin Ayre and Bodog.

Along with this, Bodog.com domain has been returned to its original owner, after being seized by the US authorities, so we can expect the familiar domain to make a comeback to the gambling market in the near future.

According to the settlement, the US government will keep $67 million, seized when the proceedings started. The funds belonged to US gamblers, and while neither Calvin Ayre nor Bodog had ever made a claim to it, Bodog refunded all its customers whose assets were confiscated by the authorities.

End of a Dispute?

Canada-born Ayre resides in Antigua, from where operates a charitable foundation focused on child welfare and education. Commenting the dropping of the charges, he said he would continue to focus on being an online gaming industry analyst, an investor and a philanthropist.

There is a lot more to be resolved, because even the World Trade Organization (WTO) was involved in the whole affair. Since Bodog was operating under Antiguan license, the actions taken by the US were considered by WTO as a direct violation of the the international trade obligations.

As the company still owns a valid gaming license in Antigua, it has the legal right to re-enter the US market. But, it still remains to be seen whether the US will allow this to happen, since the country owes more than $200 million to the small Caribbean nation in penalties related to the online gambling dispute.

Meanwhile, Calvin Ayre’s Bovada brand that effectively replaced the original Bodog has been doing just fine in the North American market.