US authorities seize Bodog.com domain
BodogBrand consulting with legal advisors with a view to having the domain returned, company says.
Bodog’s dot.com domain has been seized by US authorities 10 months after the Department of Justice unsealed a series of indictments senior representatives from three formerly US-facing poker and online gambling sites.
A message on the site now reads: This domain has been seized by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, Office of the Special Agent in Charge, Blatimore, Md, in accordance with a warrant obtained with the assistance of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland…”
In a statement Bodog said: “BodogBrand became aware late on 27 February that the domain Bodog.com had been seized by US Homeland Security. This domain is not currently in use by the BodogBrand or any Brand Licensee and has not been in use since the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG) switched its operations from Bodog.com to Bodog.eu in May 2011.
The statement that Bodog UK, Bodog Europe and Bodog Asia “have never taken bets from the US”.
“The BodogBrand is currently consulting with its legal advisors with a view to having the domain returned,” it added.
Bodog.eu, the Kahnawake-licensed Bodog brand licensee owned by the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG), closed its doors to customers from the United States on 14 December last year after announcing it would do so earlier that summer. Earlier last year Bodog announced it would let the agreement run down by the end of December, citing fears of a “negative perception” of its brand in the UK and Asia.
Since that date MMGG has operated from the Bovada.lv domain, despite its licensing agreement for the Bodog.eu domain not officially ending until 31 December. Bovada.lv, a latvian domain, claims to offer “American players the opportunity to bet on all major sports, industry leading poker software, over 120 casino games, and top North American horseracing tracks”.
When asked about the domain seizure Bodog Brand founder Calvin Ayre told Calvinayre: “BodogBrand.com is a brand-licensing organisation based outside the US. The brand left the market last year and the domain in question has been dormant globally for longer than that. We are only currently doing brand licensing deals outside the US so this domain had no place in any of our current plans.”
The UK-facing Bodog UK brand received its licence from the Gambling Commission in July, while the operator also has licences in the Philippines (with Bodog88) and Antigua (Bodog Europe).
The BodogBrand is currently consulting with its legal advisors with a view to having the domain returned.