OT - Bodog.com shut down by feds

Submitted by Butterfield on

Bodog.com, a pretty popular sportsbook and poker site that many of you may be familiar with, becomes the most recent website to be seized by the Feds.  I used to make an occasional online wager on that site but stopped just as Poker Stars and some of the other more popular sites were first being threatened.  Since I shat the bed picking games the War on Internet Gaming has actually helped my bank account.  Hope nobody here has money in a Bodog account, my guess is the Feds won't let you have it back....

http://www.cbssports.com/general/story/17489025/feds-shut-down-gambling-site-bodog-indict-operators 

RowoneEndzone

February 28th, 2012 at 8:24 PM ^

I love that ESPN publishes the lines from these sites and yet it is illegal.  What a joke.  The housing market it shit, kids get shot up in schools and our gov't is busy protecting us from online sports gambling.  LOL.

/sorry if too political but it's more a rant about sports betting and ancient laws

Ziff72

February 28th, 2012 at 4:24 PM ^

...or anyone who quit playing lost out on making a lot more money.  

I haven't had 1 hiccup since all this shit went down.     This whole thing is fucking joke.  I'll say this.   If you believe this has anything to do with anything besides politicians lining their pockets with money from the US Casinos you are a complete moron.

AAB

February 28th, 2012 at 4:32 PM ^

unless you moved to Canada I don't see how you can feel comfortable or have been problem free.  They're obviously going after Merge next, and all of us who played on Full Tilt still have money locked up.  

Ziff72

February 28th, 2012 at 4:39 PM ^

So you still don't have your money from Full Tilt yet?   What is going on I thought the feds were giving people their money back.    Have you heard anything?   I was curious if you were supposed to get your whole balance or just your deposit?

My site is in the UK and I have never had 1 problem.  I took most of my money out when this mess started and I don't play anymore mostly because of time but occasionally I'll check it out and everything is running fine and I've never waited more than 2 days for my money. 

 

NorthSideBlueFan

February 28th, 2012 at 4:56 PM ^

As a player with money still held up, I have read a lot of articles about it. Grantland has a huge one and deadspin had a few as well.


Even more amazing is a couple of the Vegas pros who were endorsers/partners have been indicted as well. CRAZY stuff.

Edit- here's one: http://deadspin.com/5842182/is-the-justice-department-responsible-for-o…

Ziff72

February 28th, 2012 at 5:03 PM ^

Never underestimate greed.  I always told people that these sites were printing money so they wouldn't risk their reputations by doing shady stuff.   What a stupid I am.

I will say I think it was less devious than reported.  It is the classic business story.

Full Tilt is making money but they are in a territory war with Poker Stars, Bodog and all the other sites.   They attempt to squash the competition by paying huge salaries to all the stars and advertising expecting to make that money back after they have cornered the market.  They use deposit money to pay it off expecting ot make it all back and the bottom falls out and they are screwed. 

They were unethical but to call it a ponzi scheme is incorrect.  Their business model made money they just got greedy.  It wasn't a complete scam. 

 

AAB

February 28th, 2012 at 4:58 PM ^

they didn't segregate deposits from other business accounts, so they used player deposits to pay general business expenses.  When the feds shut down the site, they were left without sufficient funds to cover deposits.  

Ziff72

February 28th, 2012 at 5:06 PM ^

I knew that , but I thought you were geting like 80 cents on the dollar.   Then I was confused if you were getting your deposit back or your balance. 

Say you deposited $500 and your balance was $2500.  I didn't know if they were letting you keep your winnings or just the deposit.

Looks like they are giving you nothing.

 

clarkiefromcanada

February 28th, 2012 at 4:32 PM ^

This.

You are one hundred percent correct. All this does is to consolidate gaming interests among a few casino ownership groups in North America (you could, of course, still play various reputable British online sites if you lived in Canada) who will eventually (much like the record industry) get hip to this new Internets and come up with a viable model that is, curiously enough, acceptable to the legislators in Washington.

profitgoblue

February 29th, 2012 at 2:30 AM ^

It appears as though my humor was entirely wasted on you.  Or my humor is not funny.  One or the other.  The pool or the pond.  The pond would be good for you.

And in response to your witty reply, I have no legal affiliation with the site, as opposed to people that deposit funds with sites that are being shut down by federal law enforcement.  An important legal distinction, as you probably well know.

 

MichiganStudent

February 28th, 2012 at 5:41 PM ^

I played on Bodog.com during the 2009 season. I initially invested $20 and started only betting on college football games. I got up to $600 and decided to bet it all on Michigan beating Illinois (straight up, money line) and lost because Roundtree couldn't make it to the endzone and we didnt score on 4 straight goal line downs. 

...cool story bro, I know...

Nick

February 28th, 2012 at 6:24 PM ^

betting the house is tempting, but even more so than getting the best of the line and not gambling unless you have an edge, the #1 rule of sports betting is practicing smart money management.  Shouldn't bet any more than 5% of your bankroll on any one bet and optimally like 2-3%