U.K. ONLINE GAMBLING LICENCE FOR BODOG?

15 February 2008

CEO takes issue with criminality claim


Online gambling group Bodog has applied for a British operating licence as part of its plans to expand further into the European market, reports The Guardian.

In an interview with Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre, the newspaper raised allegations that the gambling group's substantial activities in the US are criminal. Ayre rejected the idea, saying: "We have licences from sovereign governments to do what we do - that's how it works on every other industry on the planet."

Ayre admitted Bodog took bets from US customers but claimed the company did not "operate" there.

The Guardian piece recalls that almost all of the online casino and poker groups targeting British punters have chosen to boycott the UK regulatory regime because of the 15 percent remote gaming tax imposed last year by the UK Treasury.

Bodog is among the few internet gambling groups to have continued taking bets from US customers after the enactment there in 2006 of the controversial Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act, which seeks to disrupt financial transactions between players and online gambling companies.

To receive the remote casino and general betting licences for which Bodog has applied, the company must pass a "fit and proper operator" test. A spokesman for the Gambling Commission, the industry regulator, confirmed last night that Bodog applications were still pending.

Ayre said UK licences would not necessarily be used to take British bets. He pointed out that Bodog already had an Antiguan licence, which it is using to establish a foothold in Europe.

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