Bodog Conference Cancelled

[Pinababy69]

Statement from Susan Mainzer, the Media Relations Manager at Bodog.com



-----------------------

The Bodog.com Marketing Conference presents a wonderful opportunity for good discussion about marketing, customer service and about the growth of our industry; however, in the last few days, many who planned to attend the conference have expressed a high level of concern over the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. governments recent actions against one of the companies in our industry. It is in light of these concerns that we have decided to postpone the Bodog.com Marketing Conference to a later date and at an international location. This decision ensures that the focus of the conference will not be lost.

The scheduled Party, however, will go on as planned at Tao at the Venetian on Tuesday, July 25th at 9 p.m.

I apologize for any inconveniences this has caused, but in spite of what has happened of late we chose to act with the industries best interests in mind. I assure you that we will make it up with a bigger and better conference to be announced in the near future.

Bodog.com will carry on our business as usual and will continue to lead the way in digital entertainment.


-Calvin Ayre, Founder and CEO of Bodog.com

 

[tennis_balls]

wise move, Calvin.

there was probably a welcoming party of federal agents at the Vegas airport scanning the air for your plane.

now cough up some real bonuses you cheap bastard!

 

[The Dude]

The scheduled Party, however, will go on as planned at Tao at the Venetian on Tuesday, July 25th at 9 p.m.

Yeah but, wouldn't Calvin be hanging out at his own party? Guess we'll find out in a few days.

 

[cipher]

Yeah but, wouldn't Calvin be hanging out at his own party? Guess we'll find out in a few days.

If Calvin has an attorney with a brain the size of a pea he won't be hanging out anywhere here in the states.

Have a good one.

 

[cslate]

I always wonderd why he didnt like Canucks

 

[jetset]

If Ayre was bold (or silly) enough to sally into the States right now, he would make a great publicity vehicle for the DoJ, even if they temporarily detained him *to assist in enquiries* as an intimidatory tactic.

Look how Carruthers' arrest has scared the bejasus out of industry execs who travel to, or go through the States from time to time!

 

[tennis_balls]

if Ayre and some of his entourage decide not to show, this will leave a lot of high-priced "models" with some free time and have an adverse effect on the US economy.

 

[dominique]

if Ayre and some of his entourage decide not to show, this will leave a lot of high-priced "models" with some free time and have an adverse effect on the US economy.

You can say that again.

I don't think Vegas is aware how much they have been profiting from the online industry.

Operators, marketing companies, publishers, affiliate programs and affiliates from all over the world have been heading to Vegas for conferences and meetings many, many times per year for as long as the industry has been around.

I think we have made quite an impact on the tourist industry there. This will now stop. Likely CAC in September will be the last conference Vegas will see from us. And that venue might be changed yet.

 

[bossplayer]

You can say that again.

I don't think Vegas is aware how much they have been profiting from the online industry.

Operators, marketing companies, publishers, affiliate programs and affiliates from all over the world have been heading to Vegas for conferences and meetings many, many times per year for as long as the industry has been around.

I think we have made quite an impact on the tourist industry there. This will now stop. Likely CAC in September will be the last conference Vegas will see from us. And that venue might be changed yet.

I hope you do make as much of an impact as you hope, however I dont think you do.

If you asked every hotel/casino in vegas if they want to see online gambling regulated or outlawed I would be surprised to see even one of them respond regulated.

 

[soflat]

It is somewhat hypocritical.

The casinos have been saying it is legal to deposit and play from the States for years. Now they are afraid to even step foot on our soil?

Do they recommend we no longer play from the US?

 

[soflat]

Wow, I just got the answer to my own question:

Please be advised that in the light of recent actions by US regulators, Eurobet has regretfully taken the decision to cease taking any business through its websites from U.S. residents with immediate effect. U.S. residents will no longer be able to transact with our websites and all accounts held by U.S. residents have now been closed.

We are contacting you because we believe that, based on the personal details you have provided us, you are a US resident and therefore affected by this decision.

Where we already have your payment details we will refund any outstanding balance using that method within 7 days from today. If we do not have the necessary details please contact us on or via email at xxx to confirm how you wish any existing balances on your account should be repaid including the appropriate financial details.

We commit to processing such refund with 7 days of receiving your payment instructions.

On behalf of the entire Eurobet team we apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your previous custom.


Kind regards,

---
Head of Services
Eurobet.com

I guess I should sell my shares of online gaming stocks too.

 

[dominique]

Unless the senate picks up the anti gambling law, this is just all geared to giving the gambling world the nilly willies.

If the senate does pick up on that law, I would imagine there would be a short time of confusion before the alternate ways to gamble kick in.

I have a feeling Bryan will be very busy if that happens...

Why would a government drive decent places out of business and create a criminal element to prey on it's citizens?

 

[Mousey]

Why would a government drive decent places out of business and create a criminal element to prey on it's citizens?

I believe politicians learned how to do preceisely that with the Prohibition.

 

[soflat]

Why would a government drive decent places out of business and create a criminal element to prey on it's citizens?

There were local criminal bookies in the US before the internet gambling crackdown. Actually they existed before the internet was even invented. So I don't believe they're creating a criminal element.

 

[Linus]

Why would a government drive decent places out of business and create a criminal element to prey on it's citizens?

You can't have it both ways, Dominique. Internet gambling might be perfectly decent, despite being illegal. But don't pretend you didn't know it was illegal in the first place.

 

[spearmaster]

Clarification, in case you didn't already realize this, Linus.

Sports wagering is illegal by virtue of the Wire Act.

No other form of online gambling appears to be covered by the Wire Act - and thus online gambling is NOT illegal in the US, with the exception of sports betting. Some states, however, have explicitly declared any form of online gambling (or any form of gambling) illegal.

 

[Westland Bowl]

Clarification, in case you didn't already realize this, Linus.

Sports wagering is illegal by virtue of the Wire Act.

No other form of online gambling appears to be covered by the Wire Act - and thus online gambling is NOT illegal in the US, with the exception of sports betting. Some states, however, have explicitly declared any form of online gambling (or any form of gambling) illegal.

Right, Spearmaster. But further still the courts say that the Wire Act covers telephone use in betting but not the Internet. You don't telephone a bet or funds through the Internet.

 

[winbig]

nvm wrong thread

 

[spearmaster]

Unfortunately, in the case of BetOnSports, they definitely took bets by phone.

The bit about the telephone, however, is a bit weird. Obviously not all Internet connections are by telephone wires.

The actual section states "wire communication facility", as opposed to telephone. But we all know what they're talking about... LOL...

This is as good a starting point as any - and backs up what I posted above.

The Interstate Wire Act of 1961, often called the Federal Wire Act, is a United States federal law prohibiting the operation of certain types of betting businesses in the United States. It begins with the text:

Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

The law has been interpreted by some, including the Department of Justice, to mean that all online gambling is illegal. However, U.S. Courts have ruled to the contrary. Also, many believe the phrase "in the business of" means only businesses are affected. Some argue that the law only covers sports betting, and not other forms of gambling such as poker.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting and not other types of online gambling. The Supreme Court has not officially ruled on the meaning of the Federal Wire Act as it pertains to online gambling.

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[Simmo!]

If you asked every hotel/casino in vegas if they want to see online gambling regulated or outlawed I would be surprised to see even one of them respond regulated.

In the 4411 debate in the House last week, 49 states supported the bill. One vocally opposed it. Nevada. Guess that's called keeping your options open

 

[jetset]

QUOTE from U.S. media reports today:

The Carruthers arrest and detention without bail has again focused attention on the old legal question, "Are online casino and poker activities embraced by the 1961 Wire Act?" The act certainly covers the use of telephones to take US wagers, but does that extend to gambling other than sportsbetting and more recent technologies?

"The Justice Department has said [all] Internet gambling is prohibited, but most legal experts would say they are wrong, that this only applies to sports betting," opines Joseph Kelly, a legal scholar at the State University of New York at Buffalo, who has consulted for the government of Antigua and others on US law.

Kelly said it was an unusual coincidence that the indictment - which was handed down in June but only unsealed this week - came in such close contiguity to the House of Representatives passing a new bill banning some, but not all forms of Web gambling in the USA.

"Why would Congress try to make something illegal if it is already illegal?" he asks.

 

[jetset]

Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing in Sen Frist's office - this update from Reuters would seem to contradict an earlier statement from staff in the same office!


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to ban Internet gambling faces opposition in the U.S. Senate, but backers still hope to win passage of it within a few weeks, a top aide to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said on Thursday.

"We are trying to get something done before the August recess," set to begin on August 4, said Eric Ueland, Frist's chief of staff.

Earlier on Thursday, another Frist aide said lawmakers were still working on the bill, but would not be able to vote on it before the Senate heads off for its month-long vacation.

Ueland rejected that characterization, saying Frist had not given up on getting a vote before the August recess.

Backers of the legislation have hoped to push it through the Senate this month following the arrest in the United States of David Carruthers, the chief executive of BETonSPORTS Plc, on charges of racketeering and conspiracy.

Carruthers is scheduled to appear at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday to determine if he must remain in jail until his trial.

 

[lots0]

Likely CAC in September will be the last conference Vegas will see from us. And that venue might be changed yet.

I hope CAC is not moved or cancled, I already have a suite booked and there are a few folks, one in particular, I can't wait to meat.

 

[dominique]

Bryan and I are on the Advisory board of CAC, we are sure to know fast if the venue changes.

This bill is going to end right here, like it always has. I'd hate to be wrong with this, but I feel quite confident.

 

[Linus]

Clarification, in case you didn't already realize this, Linus.

Sports wagering is illegal by virtue of the Wire Act.

No other form of online gambling appears to be covered by the Wire Act - and thus online gambling is NOT illegal in the US, with the exception of sports betting. Some states, however, have explicitly declared any form of online gambling (or any form of gambling) illegal.

Spear, the Wire Act is not the only law in the US.

In fact, the MO indictment alleges violations of at least seven different Federal criminal laws - not just the Wire Act.

And that's just Federal law - in the US, gambling is primarily regulated at the state level. And no state allows unlicensed commercial gambling within its borders - whether facilitated by the internet, or otherwise.

Focusing exclusively on the Wire Act simply clouds the issue.

Online gambling is illegal in the US, because no internet site has a license from any US state. Until that changes, internet gambling is, has been, and will be illegal in the US.