[Bill Dozer]

Shareholders are scheduled to approve the sale of Tasman Gaming, which encompasses all US-serving gaming brands, on November 15th . This means player funds will remain frozen until the transfer is complete on the 15th.

[Dark Horse]

They're going to freeze US accounts for a month?!

[SBR_John]

Wtf?!

[isetcap]

It's like a 30-day CD with no interest. I love it!

[Dark Horse]

Am I missing something?

1) They knew all the time they would need the shareholders approval.
2) They would continue to ignore the Antigua gaming commision, which states that funds must be accessible at all times.

[Bill Dozer]

Am I missing something?

1) They knew all the time they would need the shareholders approval.
2) They would continue to ignore the Antigua gaming commision, which states that funds must be accessible at all times.

That pretty much sums it up. I left my ASX rulebook at home but I would guess they could have waived the 3 weeks in times like this.

[SBR_John]

I believe they can bypass that rule probably by getting a majority of shareholders to vote to set it aside. Even if they can't, the parties, Bodog and WWTS, can make any arrangement they want to get back open making the shareholder approval a simple formality.

I'd be shocked and the deal would be in some trouble if they are not in business by next weekend imo.

[pags11]

what about people's rollovers at WWTS?...will they be carried over or will they be required to have new ones at bodog?...

[louis]

From reading their statement, they say they are selling all of their operations in Toronto and Antigua, which is everything other than the CEO's office, and then they are going to return all remaining funds to the share holders and that is going to be the end of Betcorp.

At least that is how I interpret their statement.

[acw]

Am I missing something?

Yes.

2) They would continue to ignore the Antigua gaming commision, which states that funds must be accessible at all times.

They do not have the money!

Am I the only one that does not trust Bodog and thinks they will come with a last minute withdrawal?

[louis]

After freezing customer's accounts for a month, Bodog is going to be faced with no customers.

Bodog has seriously underestimated the damage to the reputation of WWTS, and how this damage will effect the profitability of the brand.

What Bodog purchased is worth close to nothing. So they are going to lose $9 million, but i do trust them to go ahead and take the loss, because if they don't, the reputation of their other brand, bodog.com will be effected.

[egamingnews]

there is extensive analysis on this at http://egamingnews.blogspot.com

[JoshW]

November 15th? Are you kidding me. I can't believe they can get away with this shit. They can do whatever they want, but they should pay out to the players now. Big black eye on the industry even if they do pay.

[pags11]

Nov. 15th is pretty bush...

[Dark Horse]

The more I think about it, the less I understand why WWTS, or whatever remains of it, hasn't been downgraded to F.

Please slap this scam book with an F-rating! With a C rating they're in the Tradesports ranks, which is ridiculous.

[Sam Odom]

The best comment on this was "Oh great, what I always wanted a Bodog account" from a poster who's name I cannot remember.

[SBR_John]

The big loser here seems to be Bodog. WWTS is history as we knew them. But the bad will of holding players money hostage is going to be taken out on the white knight. Bodog is foolish to not insist that their new players are treated better than this.

[Sam Odom]

John, Ken & Pete are saying Bodog are the big winners here !?

Hard for a offshore layman to believe much of anything lately

[Sam Odom]

In thread dated 10/23 "Bodog.com makes a new announcement today..."

The General wrote: Bodog is becoming a monster in the Industry more so now than ever. Am I correct?

The Shrink replied: Bodog is definitely a monster...

[SBR_John]

Sam,

I dont agree. This was handled poorly and its going to bite Bodog in the azz when they open the teller windows. Maybe longer term this is good for Bodog, time will tell. They picked up a lot of goodies for sure but they should have drove a cram-down deal and insisted the players not be abused imho.

[Sam Odom]

John, what do you hear or think about :

Will Bodog have no strings attached to player's WWTS balances or will they require a rollover of some sorts?

[SBR_John]

We have never heard the Bodog camp ever suggest there would be any strings attached like rollovers or anything else.

However, Nov 15 is a longgg time away and they at some point may realize the damage and things could change. Having said that, I think Bodog will just suck it up and pay everyone. The further bad will that will come from imposing a rollover will not be worth it and I'm confident they are smart enough to know that.

[Sam Odom]

I guess I'm a simpleton... No way would I buy (give up real cash money) WWTS and part of the deal being to hold/freeze the players balances for weeks during World Series & Football UNLESS I was requiring a 3x rollover.

[Sam Odom]

Not too many sq playing into WWTS. How many WWTS players will stay with Bodog when they get dealt Bodog's famous 2nd line?

My guess, if Bodog doesnt have a rollover Neteller may have to go offline fron the volume of $$$ w/d from Bodog.

[SBR_John]

Your latter suggestion is the one I would bet.

Bodog is happy about the side goodies they picked up with the multiple currency platform and the international office and a foot in the WTO and a lot of other goodies they can make good use of. I dont believe they care much about these players cashing out they probably dont even want most of them. If they did, they would have handled this differently.

[pags11]

Nov. 15th's got to seem so far away for the former WWTS players...I really feel for them...

[louis]

I don't think the goodies, assets in antigua - personnel, software etc. are worth much when purchasing a brand that deserves a grade of F, that has or will soon lose all of its customers.

Bodog made a huge mistake to buy sportsbooks that will have frozen customer accounts for more than a month.

I also don't think all of WWTS's customers are sharps, that Bodog doesn't want anyhow.

We are in uncharted terriotory here. This is the first time an A+ sportsbook has stolen money from players. Bodog is incorrectly assuming that they can buy all this infrastructure, and then the customers will follow. It doesn't work like that. The infrastructure is worthless without customers.

[Dark Horse]

Ayre is a savvy billionaire. He will know perfectly well what he bought and why. We have none of the details, so do assume much by questioning his decision.

I fail to understand why the 'live' branch of WWTS hasn't been downgraded further. Money at WWTS is now, by definition, at risk, because of the people who run that show. They have proven themselves perfectly willing to f*ck clients over. Isn't that the mark of a D or F book?

[TLD]

I’m going to be in the minority here. As a WWTS customer, I won’t have any ill will against the new ownership (Bodog) and won’t feel any urgency to pull out all my money once it’s transferred over.

I’m critical of WWTS and would not want to risk funds with any book those same people are running in the future. But why should I feel unsafe at Bodog? Why should my belief that WWTS was unjustified in freezing American accounts while they tried to work out a sale cause me to distrust the book that buys them out and not feel safe keeping money there? What has Bodog done wrong here to deserve losing the customers they’re saving from being stiffed?

[SBR_John]

I’m going to be in the minority here. As a WWTS customer, I won’t have any ill will against the new ownership (Bodog) and won’t feel any urgency to pull out all my money once it’s transferred over.

I’m critical of WWTS and would not want to risk funds with any book those same people are running in the future. But why should I feel unsafe at Bodog? Why should my belief that WWTS was unjustified in freezing American accounts while they tried to work out a sale cause me to distrust the book that buys them out and not feel safe keeping money there? What has Bodog done wrong here to deserve losing the customers they’re saving from being stiffed?

Excellent post. A lot of good points about not taking out a frustrating situation on the white knoght. We are all happy its another A quality book and not a BetUS or a Bet4aces.

[pags11]

that was an excellent post TLD...