Pre-Bodog

Ayre’s father was a pig-farmer who was eventually arrested and convicted of smuggling marijuana. During the 1990’s Ayre was involved in a trading scandal. Following his conviction, he created Bodog and massaged the business to become one of the biggest online gambling brands ever.

Bodog Lifestyle

As profits grew from the online empire, so did Ayre’s lavish lifestyle. He appeared in Playboy and judged lingerie contests during the Super Bowl. Ayre claims to have purchased 3,000 copies of his Playboy issue. He currently owns two homes in Vancouver, three in Antigua and additional residences in Costa Rica, the Philippines and Thailand where he hosts enormous parties for shark gamblers, rap artists, bodyguards and Bodog Girls.

Places he will never revisit

With the world at his doorstep, Ayre says there are only three places he will never go: the United States, Saskatchewan and Poland. Although he made his fortune in the U.S. gaming market, the passage of the UIGEA in 2006 changed his view of the country forever. Also, he will never return to his home Canadian province of Saskatchewan, a place where the remoteness bores him. Finally, he will never go back to Poland where he was mugged.

Other Focuses

Ayre is clearly not pleased that the United States is preparing to enter the online gambling industry. However, Bodog was mentioned in the Black Friday cases but Ayre confirms that there is a no way the online casino can be dragged in. The King of Bling and the Bodog brand are currently focusing on the Asia online gambling market, a major earner for gaming. In his spare time, the multi-billionaire sponsors two soccer teams, the West Bromwich Albion and the Ayre United.

Ayre is the ultimate rags to riches story. The man enjoys his success by spending money worry-free on lavish items and throwing incredible parties for those around him. He is in the news often for this lifestyle but continues to thrive as a businessman and grow his fortune.

UIGEA Permits Intra-state Gambling

The letter discusses that the State of New Jersey should not be hindered from exercising its rights within the state constitution as well as under Federal law the Senator defends the state’s stance by citing the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that permits intra-state online gambling.

The specific passage from the law is, “The term ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ does not include placing, receiving, or otherwise transmitting a bet or wager where…the bet or wager is initiated and received or otherwise made exclusively within a single State.”

No Violation of the UIGEA

Lesniak further indicated that the intermediate routing of Internet network traffic between states also does not violate the provisions of the UIGEA or Wire Act. Specifically, the UIGEA states that intermediate routing has no effect on the original location of the bet. Also, the Wire Act targeted criminal enterprises utilizing forms of telecommunication to conduct illegal sports betting. However, this act was not intended for intra-state online gambling.

Original Letters against Online Gambling

The letter was written as a response to those written to the Attorney General by Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl demanding the DoJ crackdown on the passage of intra-state online gambling laws. Lesniak completely contradicted the claim presented by the other two Senators that intra-state online gaming was illegal. The Senator further specified that if the view held by the two opposing Senators was accepted, the DoJ would be required to prosecute the Nevada Gaming Board.

State-level Legalizations

The Nevada Gambling Board recently approved sports betting via mobile Internet within the States of Nevada. Also, other forms of online gambling were approved in the state such as casino games, sports betting and poker. Lesniak further emphasized that 37 other states including New Jersey should then be prosecuted for offering online wagering on horse races which has been available for many years.

Senator Lesniak provides several valid points that counter the DoJ’s stance on online gambling. Perhaps the organization will re-evaluate the many points Senator Lesniak has presented and allow willing states to implement an online gambling system.

Benefits of Implementing Online Gambling

The Chief Executive of the AGA wrote an article in Washington, D.C.-based political publication, The Hill. The article discussed how Americans enjoy gambling online and that millions of Americans bet billions of dollars each year at overseas online casinos. Furthermore he stated that these players are willing to wager against the wishes of the United States Government.

The Chief Executive also mentioned that he supports the indictment of the three illegal poker rooms that were shut down by the government. However, he also added that law enforcement cannot solely be the solution as those that wagered at these sites are now betting elsewhere. Unfortunately, these other sites may be unsafe to players.

Creating a Regulated Online Gambling Environment

As a result, he is advocating for the creation of a regulated online gambling environment that is safe for players. This can be implemented by amending the UIGEA and education to the public. This will also immediately create thousands of new jobs and raise U.S. tax revenues by approximately $20 billion over the next ten years.

The Press Conference

The day after the article was published; the Chief Executive of the AGA joined three land-based gambling chiefs to conduct a press conference in Washington, D.C. All three are in favor of the legalization of online gambling. They further noted that the technology for precautionary measurements is available. Additionally, they stated that since the demand for online gambling is so high amongst Americans, there is no other option.

Another Initiative

Another planned initiative by the association is to develop its own bill for online gambling. The bill will be created for independent state regulations with the supervision of the Federal government.

The AGA is playing a major role in the implementation of online gambling into the United States. Due to its ties to the U.S. Government, they may actually be persuasive enough for a new bill or amendment of the UIGEA to be implemented.

As a result of the recent actions taken by the Department of Justice against specific online gambling operators, many of these remaining Microgaming casinos are beginning to consider removing their operations from the United States. In many gambling forums, there have been announcements that all Microgaming online casinos will be leaving the United States gambling market.

One affiliate announced that their brand will be shutting down and they must comply with Microgaming’s decision. He further stated that those players with balances remaining at the casinos would be paid. Unfortunately this could take several weeks since Microgaming does not have any processes in place for this situation.

The following Microgaming casinos will be removed from the United States gambling market in the near future:

• 7 Sultans
• Royal Vegas
• Platinum Play
• Vegas Palms
• All Slots
• All Jackpots
• Villento
• Rich Reels
• River Belle
• Maple Casino

With the removal of these well-known and highly popular brands from the United States marketplace, a vacuum is sure to ensue. One option for these brands is to acquire a license through Realtime Gaming and Vegas Technology, two leading software developers who are quite familiar with the American online gambling landscape. This is the route Doyle’s Casino and Intertops took. This vacuum could be filled by less trustworthy, overnight operators.

The political landscape behind online gambling seems to be a rollercoaster at which the car is currently at the bottom. Congressman Barney Frank’s bill HR1174 was reintroduced but appears as if it will be blocked by the Republicans. Although state online gambling bills are not progressing, the Washington, D.C. implementation of online gambling is a step in the right direction.

With the eyes of the gambling world glued to the United States, the country looks disorganized. One minute the governing bodies are in favor of the implementation of online gambling, the next they are indicting individuals from other countries. The United States needs to make a decision and stick with it so the global economic community can move on with progress

Seizure of Three Domains

On Friday, April 15^th, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice seized the domains of the three largest online poker room operators: Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker. A warrant for the arrest of the owners has been issued along with a demand of $3 billion in penalties. However, the owners do not currently reside in the United States so they cannot be taken into custody at this time.

UIGEA 2006

The Department of Justice enforced this indictment under UIGEA 2006. One of the charges held against the operators is conducting illegal online gambling with the most severe being bank fraud and money laundering. According to the UIGEA, the funding of illegal gambling is a criminal offense therefore, since payments have been made from the casino to players, these operators are violating the law.

Payment Processors and the UIGEA

Due to this section of UIGEA, most online banks are weary of making financial transactions with online gambling sites. The payment processors used for financial transactions in the incident claimed to be online merchants that purchase various types of physical merchandise. According to legal experts, these are the primary aspects of the transactions that can get gambling operators into trouble.

Reaction from the Online Community

Of course the actions taken by the Department of Justice have been condemned by the online gambling community. The three poker rooms at fault have not yet released any type of statement. Additionally, no statements have been made from other online poker rooms that allow U.S.-based players. Legal professionals are advising players to wait and keep an eye on this situation.

This event was not unexpected as online gaming software providers Playtech and Cryptologic and payment processor Neteller all withdrew from the American market when the UIGEA was enacted in 2006. Microgaming followed two years later after the Kentucky domain name case began. It is unpredictable as to whether this particular event will cause additional flight by operators from the online gambling industry.

As a result of this bill, European online casino operators have lost a huge portion of the American online gaming market. This resulted in a large financial loss for most operators. The European Commission has argued against the bill stating it goes against the policy and commitment the United States has to the World Trade Organization.

Although the Commission is positive it has a winning case in court against this law, it prefers to negotiate directly with the United States. Therefore, it has initiated discussions with the proper U.S. officials. Unfortunately this was stalled by the Bush Administration resulting in separated ties between the U.S. and the European Commission.

If the act is simply overturned, players will be able to access sites in Europe and this entire issue will disappear. Therefore, Barney Frank has been committed to pushing the Anti-UIGEA bill through Congress quickly.

The UIGEA bill prevents individuals located in the United States from accessing online casinos by making it illegal for financial services to transfer money to these sites. Most U.S.-based financial companies have stopped transferring money. However, there are still plenty of overseas options for U.S. players. Regardless, this has significantly affected revenues in many states.

The three largest online gaming operators include:

• Cryptologic
• Playtech
• Microgaming

Each company completely left the United States gaming market following the enactment of the UIGEA. Consequently, their stock price took a severe drop. Each of these companies is missing out on the money generated by American players. At the same time, American players are missing out on some of the best online casinos available to date. Overturning the act will allow them to return and players to wager at the best casinos.

Frank’s Anti-UIGEA bill looks to legalize online gambling and have it regulated by each state. Therefore, American players can wager in a safe and regulated environment that eliminates underage and problem gambling. The Government will be able to collect taxes and generate additional revenue. The bill appears to be robust and well-structured. Hopefully in the future this idea will become a reality and all Americans have the freedom to play at home.

Since 1998, Congress has attempted to pass anti-online gambling legislation. These efforts continued to fail due to the hurdles surrounding the law making process in the United States. Each year the bill was presented it was held up because of lobby groups each having their hand out. The result of this interference was Congress running out of time before the bill could be presented.

In 2006 the Republican Congress was fighting to segregate themselves from connections to online gambling lobbyist Jack Abramhoff who was surrounded by corruption and scandal. As a result, the party created the American Values Agenda which prohibited online gaming. The Agenda was led by Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Jim Leach.

They believed online gambling was removing billions of dollars from the American economy. Also, they stated online gaming was highly prone to fraud, national security, money laundering and various forms of theft. These angles attempted to deter Americans from participating in the activity.

Despite their claims, polls revealed American’s felt online gaming was a personal choice. In 2006, the Conservative Congress flipped to a Democratic Government. Despite this defeat, Republicans cleverly attached the UIGEA bill to a Homeland Security bill just before the power shift. Therefore, the bill was passed and online gambling was no longer legal in the United States.

The entire political environment in 2006 favored anti-gaming legislation in both Houses. In the summer of 2006 two bills were introduced by the House:

• The Leach Bill
• Goodlatte Bill

The Leach Bill attempted to halt electronic fund transfers to online casinos. The Goodlatte Bill expanded the scope of the Wire Act to include online casinos and poker rooms. This came about through a change in the terminology of the business of betting. The House eventually collaborated on a single bill that combined aspects from both bills.

The UIGEA is a tremendously important piece of legislation for the United States. Although the potential for reversal is always on the mind of gaming enthusiasts, this may never become a reality due to the strict guidelines set forth by this act.

Provisions

This act essentially prohibits the transfer of funds from financial institutions to illegal Internet gambling websites excluding horse racing, fantasy sports and online lotteries. Penalties include the criminalization of the owners of those sites accepting funds from bettors. Those operators that are effect by this act include:

• Those that knowingly accept wages
• Those in the business of illegal gambling
• Those sponsoring online gaming that violates federal and state laws
• Those accepting gambling funds from credit cards, EFT’s and checks
• Those in connection with a bettor

The ban became effective immediately upon approval. Ironically, the actual participation in online gambling or betting is not illegal, simply funding it is. This targets financial institutions, credit card companies and other online banking companies. Also, internet service providers were required to remove sites that displayed hyperlinks to gambling websites.

Industry responses

Many advocates against this bill argued that since poker is a game of skill, it should be excluded from this bill. Each state determined that this did not hold water. A study was conducted and decided that any game that contains 51% chance, is considered a game of luck and is therefore part of the bill. One solution is for online poker operators to present a statistical analysis based on hands played to prove this idea.

The most common response from publicly traded gambling websites is that they’ve stopped taking bets from United States customers. On the other hand, non-publicly traded websites continue to take bets from United States customers despite the law. Although they are out of the country, it is still an illegal act within the United States.

At the time, the largest internet poker company, Party Gaming Plc lost 60% of their stock worth within 24 hours of this bill being enforced. With millions of players, this showed the number of United States customers involved in some form of online gambling.

Although there are plenty of online gambling sites still available to United States customers, this act resulted in a huge loss for many publicly-traded companies. It’s likely that online gambling will always be available, but as laws become tougher, workarounds will need to be created.

House Resolutions 2266 and 2267 proposing the reversal of the UIGEA simultaneous to the legalization and regulation of online gambling in the U.S. were on the agenda for a House Committee meeting on April 16, but the bills were pushed off the agenda in lieu of what committee members deemed to be more pressing economy-related matters.

The UIGEA is scheduled to go into effect on June 1 of this year. The act was originally scheduled to go into effect in 2009 but the implementation was delayed to give the necessary government bodies time to review HR 2266 and HR 2267. With the new deadline rapidly approaching and no new hearing yet scheduled, many proponents of online gambling are concerned that the U.S. will return to its restrictive online gambling policies.

Until the UIGEA is implemented, the U.S. government has no official stance on online gambling, but many state and federal offices have used the preexisting Wire Act to prosecute casino operators and funds transfer service companies for sending and receiving money to and from American residents for the purpose of gambling online. In fact, on April 16 an Australian payment facilitator named Daniel Tzvetkoff was arrested in Las Vegas amidst allegations of processing almost half a billion dollars in illegal online gambling payments.

If the BetOnSports case which just wrapped in January is any indication of how the U.S. legal system plans to treat such operators, then Tzvetkoff could be in big trouble. BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan and CEO David Carruthers received four years and three years respectively for encouraging their company to accept payments from American banks. Both men were likewise fined a combined total of more than $70 million.

What do the legislation delays and operator crackdowns mean to the common player? If you’re not American, then neither scenario will affect you. If you are an American gambler, you cannot be prosecuted for playing real-money games online, but funds that are in transit to or from an online casino could be seized by a government body. That’s what happened to hundreds of American players when the Southern District of New York seized more than $30 million last year. None of the funds have as yet been returned to the account holders.

The Canadian Gaming Summit is in Calgary, Canada this week and the online gambling industry’s leading officials have all gathered to talk about making Canadian online casinos a reality. While online gambling itself is not illegal in Canada – either explicitly or implicitly as it is in the U.S. – operating online gambling establishments inside the country is. Since online gambling is a $1 billion industry in Canada, even without Canadian sites, it’s easy to see how opening the door to native operators could be profitable for the country and some of its tech companies.

The Canadian government currently has a laissez faire policy toward offshore operators that does little to protect Canadian players. The Interactive Gaming Council, whose president is the lead speaker at the Summit this week, would like to see the government get more proactive about online gambling by attaching new regulations to any Canadian operating licenses. While profit potential is of course a driving factor, many Canadians believe that legalizing native operators would also offer security benefits to the large number of citizens that already play online.

Proponents of online casino licensing in Canada believe that the existing population of gambling citizens will be more likely to play at sites that they know are licensed and regulated by the Canadian government, and that the government can do more to fight the growing gambling addiction problem if it approaches it from the source.

Under the country’s current online gambling policy – or lack thereof – Canadian citizens are free to play what they like, where they like and when they like. The government has absolutely no involvement in the industry, regardless of how its citizens are affected. That means that Canadian players that choose a less than reputable casino and suffer from identity theft can expect no legal recourse via the Canadian government. It’s gamble at your own risk, but many citizens feel that it’s time for their country not only to claim its share of the revenue but to protect the growing contingent of online Canadian gamblers.