Bodog Open to Canadian Residents

Perhaps none of the sites that are around today have embraced the “poker lifestyle” more than Bodog, the online poker room, casino, and sports book founded by billionaire Calvin Ayre. While Bodog grew into one of the most notable gaming platforms in the industry, the site did not accept action from Canadian players allegedly due to having business outlets in Canada that would not be protected from governmental intrusions. Recent actions have indicated, however, that this situation is about to change.

Poker News Daily has recently been scouring the internet and found that Bodog will be opening a site with the URL bodog.ca that will be specifically for Canadians to place wagers, play poker, or hit the slots on or about September 1st. As of this time, the URL forwards players to the bodog.com homepage. The information is causing some apprehension, while others are looking forward to the additional gaming option in Canada.

The online poker community PocketFives.com posted about Bodog accepting Canadian players on Thursday afternoon. A thread began, “For years Bodog was not able to provide service to you, but they are now! You can sign up an account today and take part in, among other things, the amazing overlay every Sunday in the $100k Guaranteed.”

An article at Casino City Times by writer Rebecca Liggero, who spent time in Antigua with representatives from BodogBrand.com and BodogEurope.com, there is massive expansion coming from Bodog. One of the most interesting parts of the equation is unveiled when Liggero asks Keith O’Donnell, the head of Bodog Europe, when the company will take Canadian action. O’Donnell responds, “Canadian players will be able to access a Canada-specific product suite from www.bodog.ca starting in the Fall of this year. I aggressively renegotiated the Bodog Europe brand license agreement to acquire the rights to the Canadian market earlier this year and I would expect the Canadian market – extremely technologically literate, sports lovers, and a very significant poker base – to be a huge success story in 2009 and 2010.”

In an August 21st article in the Vancouver Sun entitled “Don’t Try To Banish Online Gambling, Regulate It,” reporter David Baines takes on the question as to whether Bodog should be allowed to enter the Canadian market. Baines alleges in the article that when Ayre sold his interests in Bodog to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, he maintained ownership of the company in a “shadow” capacity.

The reason for this “shadow” ownership, Baines alleges, is due to Ayre’s reputation in Canada. Baines states that Ayre isn’t a “poster boy” for business ethics, in his opinion, due to a 1987 allegation of involvement in marijuana trafficking and a dispute in 1996 with the British Columbia Securities Commission that resulted in a 20-year ban from the securities market. Furthermore, Baines states that the Canadian government, if it were regulating the market, could prevent Bodog’s (and Ayre’s) invasion of the Canada and protect Canadian citizens. Baines also alleges in his article that Liggero is in the pocket of Bodog and that she is known online as “Bodog Becky,” which could draw into question her journalistic integrity. On PocketFives.com, “BodogBecky” is registered to Liggero.

Reaction has been mixed as to what could happen with Bodog’s acceptance of Canadian action. Online forum responses have wavered from the delight in the addition of another gaming option for Canadians to the dismay of more gambling that could affect those with addictions. There are also those potential customers who have been disappointed by previous rumors that Bodog was going to offer Canadians this option in the past, but didn’t actually complete the move.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.

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Poker glossary:

ON THE COME - A situation where the player does not have a complete hand but hopes to make one if the right cards come up.
BET - To put money into the pot, pursuant to the rules of the game, thus maintaining a chance of winning the pot.
CAP - To cap the betting is to make the last permitted raise in a round.
SET - In Hold'em, three of a kind where two of the cards are hole cards.
BLACK - When referring to chips, black usually stands for $100 casino chips. "This guy sits down with a stack of blacks and raises the first bet." Not ALL casinos use black for $100 but that is the common usage.
HOUSE RULE - Rules and interpretations (e.g., use of wild cards, or rules on having to show beaten hands) that are specific to an establishment or even tables within the establishment.

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