Bodog Europe Online Casino Becomes More Selective

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The Bodog brand started by Calvin Ayre is one of the more enduring brands in the online casino industry and has its share of ups and downs. Bodog Europe holds the exclusive license to the Bodog brand for online gambling in Europe. Its online gambling web site at Bodog.co.uk is licensed and regulated by the Directorate of Offshore Gaming of the Antigua and Barbuda Financial Services Regulatory Commission.

Over the weekend Bodog Europe players reported receiving e-mail notifications that were a bit puzzling and indicated that the online casino is becoming more selective in who it will entertain as a player. The message said that from August 30 2012, Bodog Europe would no longer process transactions in the player’s jurisdiction. Bodog Europe recommended that the concerned players withdraw the balance amounts in their account by August 30. After 30 August, Bodog Europe would adjust all player balances to zero in order to protect the funds. Funds could still be withdrawn after August 30, but the process would not be automatic in the usual manner. Players would need to contact customer service through e-mail. The notification ended with, “Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

The problem was that Bodog Europe did not give any reason for the apparent shutdown of accounts. This immediately led to a number of rumors floating at online casino forums. Some of the rumors were that Bodog Europe would follow the latest industry practice of servicing only specific nationally regulated jurisdictions; the franchise holder is exiting the online casino business and payment processing difficulties have emerged in some jurisdictions. Bodog Europe has responded immediately to quell these rumors and explain the online casino’s position in the matter.

The statement released by Bodog Europe clarifies that the only countries affected are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The statement further elucidated that Bodog Europe wanted to concentrate on their strengths and in those jurisdictions where they can offer the best product. The online casino wants to concentrate on growing existing markets. The statement said, “The Bodog brand is known for its high level of customer service and spreading ourselves too thinly to try and cover a huge amount of smaller markets was proving logistically difficult.” Bodog Europe also pointed out that a number of these countries have become notorious as sources of Internet fraud and money lost directly through this fraud or in combating this fraud would affect the services to bona fide players. Late last year the Bodog brand had exited the US market because of the legal conditions prevailing there.

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