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Following an indictment against Bodog late last month, the poker network has witnessed a 13 percent drop off in traffic according to PokerScout.com.
Authorities from the US Attorneys Office in Maryland charged the company and four of its executives with money laundering and running an illegal gambling enterprise. Bodog has long argued they are licensed in Antigua. The World Trade Organization ruled in favor of Antigua in its complaint against the US a few years back, granting its online gambling operators the right to target US gamblers.
Bodog’s US-facing brand, Bovada, has stopped allowing customers from the state of Maryland effective Tuesday March 13. The Merge Gaming Network along with a number of other online gambling websites stopped allowing customers from that state over the past year. A large number of gaming companies also do not accept business from Washington State, which makes it a Class C felony for its citizens to place bets online.
Bodog’s Bovada brand still accepts customers from most US states and it was unclear whether the downward trend would continue. It should be noted, it appears to be business as usual at Bodog/Bovada with customers reporting payouts that are in some cases faster than before the indictments.
Bodog’s traffic is still up 39 percent on the year, according to PokerScout. Likewise, the company still accepts sports wagers from the North American market. The month of March is typically among the most profitable for online sports betting sites with the heavily wagered on NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament now getting underway.
Overall, the industry reported a 1 percent drop in traffic, most of which was likely brought on by the Bodog numbers.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
