After going after gambling executives and passing stricter laws about online gambling didn’t get anywhere the government of the US decided to take a new method of attack: they seized $24 million in funds connected to online gambling site Bodog. While the amount is nothing compared to the net amount in the industry it will indeed show that the government is serious. It will also effect the owners of that money. The seizure is anticipated to hold up payouts and result in bounced checks if they are sent out.
One small bump in the program of possibly going after Bodog’s CEO is the new owners of the company. Bodog has sold the rights to its name and entity to Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, out of Canada which is an Indian Tribe. This means the US has little recourse in doing more than chase the money trails to and from Bodog. Canada is unlikely to help out from their side of the border after a tribe took up arms against authorities.
While its not clear if this is enough, it is clear that more seizures are imminent. An undercover agent was the inside edge they needed to prove that several payment processing companies were actually facilitating the Bodog payments to US players.