Which is the Most Successful Online Gambling Website

June 23, 2006 - Calvin Ayre, currently 45 years of age, grew up relatively poor on a pig farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Today, he is a huge success in the industry of online gaming. As president of Bodog Entertainment Group, he has taken Bodog.com from an unknown entity to the biggest success in Internet-based gambling anywhere in the world. At Bodog.com, bets can be placed on horses and wagering on standard casino games like poker is available. The website is an amazing success.

He was recently at the home offices of Bodog Entertainment Group in Costa Rica where bulletproof vehicles provided tight security during his visit. Ayre, always seen in the company of several gorgeous women, enjoys promoting his enterprise. He has stated that Bodog is for having fun just as watching a James Bond 007 film is fun. He feels that his business is there for entertainment and they sell people mostly fantasy - the fantasy of winning really huge sums. It is clear from the level of success that Bodog has achieve that people really enjoy wagering at this Internet gambling site.

Bodog is currently in its seventh year of operation. During its sixth year, 2005, the operation took in wagers totaling over $7 billion. Even though it is technically illegal to operate a gambling business online in the United States, Ayres hasn't been stopped. He bases the core of his gaming operation in Costa Rica where employees perform the main functions of the business tasks as well as setting odds and accepting bets. Revenue is handled via the Royal Bank of Scotland in London where income is received and payouts for winning wagers are transmitted to the winners. None of the transactions of Bodog.com occur inside an American bank or financial establishment.

Most clients of Bodog.com appear to reside in the U.S. but, because none of the actual financial transactions occur within the American financial system, he has been able to successfully operate his carefully designed and extraordinarily successful gambling business without any legal issues being raised. Ayres has been quoted as stating that he structured the business very carefully to make certain that everything is strictly legal, using a system he calls "jurisdictional arbitrage".

It is impossible to obtain even vaguely accurate figures on Bodog corporate wealth or Ayre's personal wealth. There are no accounts published, details simply are not discussed when it comes to taxes and other sensitive issues. Ayre stated that he does pay taxes according to the laws in the countries where his business operate but refused to address how much or whether he pays personal income taxes in the U.S., Canada or any other country. He refuses to discuss his personal financial situation completely, limiting discussion to his corporate financial structure and leaving that as vague as possible.

Ayre has long been quite familiar with controversy. After he earned a master's degree in business administration at a Seattle university, he landed his very first job at Bicer Medical Systems in Canada, a manufacturer of heart valves. Because he was accused of having sold shares without a prospectus and was that he was involved in insider trading, he was barred for 20 years from operating any business entity that appears on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Of course, he defends his innocence, indicating he settled for financial reasons, to get the issue closed, so that he could get on with his life and work.

He soon learned about the infamous bookmaker, Ronald "The Cigar" Sacco, who ran an offshore wagering business in the Dominican Republic where it is legal. The Sacco operation accepted sports bets that were placed by telephone. Ayre thought the Internet would work much better for placing bets; hence, Bodog.com was conceived.

Estimates indicate that Ayre may have more than $500 million in personal assets due to the success of his innovative idea but no one knows the accuracy of these estimates. He is currently working toward launching the Bodog record label and also is researching the possibility of creating a reality television program.

While Ayre's personally assets are not know for certain, it is certain that Bodog.com is the most successful online wagering site anywhere on the planet.