Calvin Ayre Costa Rica House

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  • Bodog is a ripoff. Owner Calvin Ayre is a billionaire by ripping us off. They took my money, I placed a bet on George Mason and won about $1500. Then they said that the money did not clear in time. I had sent it in the day before and it allowed me to place the bet.
  • A family in Costa Rica found themselves homeless after a devasting house fire destroyed their home and took the lives of two of their family members. The Calvin Ayre Foundation immediately came to the rescue. They provided a place for the family to stay while they rebuilt their home.
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Calvin Ayre is one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, and he has the online gambling empire he founded in 1994 to thank for catapulting him into billionaire status. Featured on both Forbes Magazine’s “Billionaires Edition” and PEOPLE’s “Most Eligible Bachelor,” the charismatic Canadian mogul has made a big name for himself in the online casino circuit and among Hollywood’s most elite.

Mountains of cash, beautiful women, and a nonstop round-the-world party. Life was good for Calvin Ayre, founder of the online gambling powerhouse Bodog. Then he was gone.

A classic tale of rags to riches, learn more about how his humble beginnings on a farm in small-town Canada helped shape the success he would go on to achieve from Bodog. In this Calvin Ayre biography, find out how his run-in with the law forced him offshore, where he refocused his entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts.

Early Life

Calvin Ayre was born on May 25, 1961, near Lloydminster in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. His parents, who often struggled to make ends meet, were determined to teach Calvin about the value of hard work at a young age. He grew up on a farm, where his dad assigned him his own pigs to raise every year:

“My Dad wanted to teach me to be a businessman, so he gave me my own little pigs and then I had to raise them up and then sell (them). So I was running a miniature little pig farm inside the bigger one,”.

Hard work and responsibility were the constant themes that rang throughout his childhood, and he considered them the norm. In an interview with The Guardian, Ayre recalled,

“All through my life it was get up in the morning, go feed the pigs, go to school and come back. It was dark when you left, and dark when you came back.”

Education

Before Ayre was ready to start high school, his family relocated to Salmon Arm, a city in the Canadian province of British Columbia. He excelled in high school and got good grades, but his family’s financial situation didn’t allow the funds necessary to attend college.

Taking matters into his own hands, he started selling fruit out of his truck on the weekends so that he could pay his way through college. He transported fresh fruit from the orchards of Columbia to the people of Saskatchewan.

In 1984, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo in Ontario. In 1989, he achieved an MBA in Management Finance from City University in Seattle, Washington.

First Real Job

Upon completing his studies, Ayre received a job offer from Bicer Medical Systems. The heart valve manufacturer was facing major financial difficulties and recruited Ayre’s expertise to keep them from going under. He was determined to help the business succeed, even at the cost of bending some of the rules.

Bending the rules involved selling 300,000 shares without releasing a prospectus and moving company shares without filing the necessary paperwork first. The resulting damage? Ayre was forced to pay $10,000 in fees and was no longer allowed to list a company on the Vancouver Stock Exchange.

This failed attempt at running a medical company, coupled with a negative hit on the BC Securities Commission, set his eyes onto something bigger and more promising: Bodog.

In 1994, Ayre launched what would become one of the most successful online gambling sites in history, Bodog. He staked everything he owned for his biggest win to date.

The Rise of Bodog

Creation

His “aha” moment came two years prior, after reading a newspaper article featuring an intriguing story about a bookie named Ronald Sacco. Sacco ran a Caribbean-based company that offered betting services to people in the United States over the telephone. While this type of operation is illegal in the United States, Sacco found a temporary loophole in the fact that it was completely legal in the Dominican Republic.

Ayre recognized that not only was there money to be made in the gambling market, but that gambling was tailor-made for the internet. With this sweet spot in mind, Ayre quickly got to work on developing his online sports betting site.

How He Did It

Ayre immersed himself in software design by reading Cisco System manuals and learned how to develop the coding for the site fully on his own.

In an effort to avoid future complications from US authorities, he based his gambling business in Costa Rica, where he held a license:

“I’ve never done any business in the U.S. All the business I’ve ever done has always been in countries where I have a license,” Ayre told American Gaming News.

What’s in a Name

While typing in different five to six-letter combinations in a search domain engine one night, he came up with the appellation in the way a major corporation would pick a name for a new car or soft drink brand. The name had to be six letters or less, easy to remember, visually appealing (there’s five o’s in Bodog), and have enough spunk to separate itself from competitors.

He conducted a survey with his family and friends and asked what the company name “Bodog” made them think of. Each of them said it made them think of some form of entertainment. Ayre knew he had a winner.

Bodog’s Appeal

What set Bodog Casino apart from other online sportsbooks at the time was anchoring Ayre’s public image as the main selling point: This luxurious lifestyle can be yours too if you become a successful sports bettor.

Featuring the man behind the website cemented its authenticity during a crucial time when online gaming popularity surged in the mid-2000s.

Expanding Beyond Gambling

Inspired by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group brand, Ayre expanded Bodog’s reach past the online gaming realm to become a “mainstream 21st-century digital entertainment conglomerate.”

He started his own recording label called Bodog Music, releasing albums for artists like Bleed the Dream, Wu-Tang Clan, and Pitbull. He also launched the television series called Bodog Music Battle of the Bands, where unsigned bands would compete for a $1 million record deal from Bodog Music.

Bodog Casino also branched out into sports by hosting events like Bodog Fight, a mixed martial arts league that including a television series and live pay-per-view events, and the Lingerie Bowl, a football game between two teams of models sporting only lingerie.

The Company Thrives

The company continued to thrive and, by 2005, they were processing more than a million bets per day with an estimated yearly revenue of $210 million. Ayre’s personal wealth also skyrocketed, and he became a self-made billionaire.

Calvin Ayre Costa Rica Houses For Sale

Ayre Faces Trouble

Calvin Ayre Costa Rica House For Rent

When the United States passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, Bodog had to close its doors to US customers. Ayre decided to sell the US side of his brand to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group of Quebec. This wasn’t an easy decision for Ayre to make, and it caused him to withdraw from the direct operation of his company for several years.

In February 2012, he was indicted by the US Attorney for Maryland on charges of money laundering and illegal gambling. This was a direct result of his involvement in Bodog Casino prior to the institution of the UIGEA. He was placed on Homeland Security Investigations’ Most Wanted list, and as a result, stayed off US soil for several years.

Latest Entrepreneurial Endeavors

US federal prosecutors officially dropped their charges against Calvin Ayre in 2017, after he willingly forfeited $60 million worth of assets to pay off his debts to the government. He currently doesn’t have plans to return to the United States, but is free to do so if he ever changes his mind.

Ayre has since launched Ayre Group, which focuses on venture capital, real estate, media, resort development and Bitcoin. Ayre said in an interview with American Gaming News,

“That whole executive stuff has gone out of my life and that gives me more time to enjoy myself,”

Ayre now serves as Economic Envoy of Antigua and Barbuda. He is responsible for overseeing the economic cooperation between Antigua and Barbuda and other countries. He will help the government understand how to use cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology so that they can stay up to date with the latest technological advancements. Ayre is happy to serve in this new position, saying, “It’s nice to have an opportunity to give back to my adopted homeland.”

In 2018, Ayre was named the Antiguan Halo Foundation’s Philanthropist of the Year at its annual Wings of Charity event.

House

Philanthropy


Ayre leveraged his success by launching the Calvin Ayre Foundation, a foundation designed to give back to those in need. Although the foundation is based in Antigua, it helps serve over eight countries around the world. It focuses on five key areas of giving: child welfare, animal welfare, education, emergency response, and social development.

Child Welfare

His foundation has raised over $150,000 for the LA Lakers Youth Foundation. Each year, they hold a sportsfest in the Philippines, which provides a fun-filled day of sports and entertainment for the youth. This program is completely free and is designed to get kids active and to show them they are valued within their community.

This foundation also helps fund the Lomonosovsky Dom Rebenka facility, which provides resources for babies born with neurological conditions.

It is located in Russia and houses over 100 children who don’t have parents that are willing or able to care for them. The facility was falling apart, but this foundation paid for its renovations, which included a new foundation.

Animal Welfare

Calvin Ayre Twitter

After learning about the thousands of cats and dogs that were left homeless as a result of Hurricane Katrina, he teamed up with Animal Avengers, a nonprofit organization created by actress Shannon Elizabeth, to raise money for rehome fees and the cost of proper medical attention. A celebrity poker night brought in over $50,000 for this cause.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation also works closely with the World Society for the Protection of Animals to raise awareness for bear bile farming.

Education

Ayre’s time in Costa Rica opened his eyes to the poor school conditions in the area. The schools’ lack of resources leads to low literacy rates and increased dropout rates. Upon seeing the effects firsthand, Ayre started the Adopt-a-School program, which helps provide schools with completely renovated facilities that are designed to create a more conducive learning environment. They also organize field trip opportunities for the students.

This recognizes the importance of integrating technology into a student’s education, which is why they have provided several schools with fully-equipped computer rooms.

They don’t just supply the equipment, but they also take the time to show the students how it works and how they can use it to help enhance their learning experience.

Emergency Response


This foundation has funds set aside to help people who face unexpected tragedies. A family in Costa Rica found themselves homeless after a devasting house fire destroyed their home and took the lives of two of their family members.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation immediately came to the rescue. They provided a place for the family to stay while they rebuilt their home. They also provided clean clothes and fresh food.

When an earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, this foundation rushed over to offer medical assistance to those who were injured.

They also challenged the online gaming industry to donate to this cause so that they could rebuild the homes that were damaged by the earthquake. The foundation agreed to match all donations up to $1,000,000.

Social Development

This foundation has two main programs that look to improve social development, the Adopt-a-Family program and the Adopt-a-Village program. Their Adopt-a-Family program helps provide families with clean water, nutritious food, and basic toiletries. They also send nurses and doctors to educate families on personal hygiene.

The Adopt-a-Village program helps provide food packs and construction materials to villages who have suffered from natural disasters. Their volunteers work closely with these families, giving them emotional support and helping them cope with the loss of their homes and loved ones.

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Calvin Ayre Costa Rica House For Sale

Paris Hilton budding up to Calvin Ayre whose Bodog online betting company is receiving over 6 billion a year in wagers.

Costa Rica has long been one of the more loosely regulated jurisdictions for online casinos and sports books. Operators need only a business license from the government to set up Internet gambling servers. And because of this, you can just about count on that every online bet is being funnel through Costa Rica.

Online betting websites like Bodog and BetUS are two of the biggest in the World, both operate out of Costa Rica, San Jose region. Calvin Ayre, owner of Bodog, started the company in late 1999 with 10,000 US dollars and by the end of 2006, it was estimated that Bodog.com was taking in over 6 billion in yearly betting revenue, with 5 billion just in US dollars!

Slots are the hottest thing for mom and pop businesses

However, what really established Costa Rica as the nucleus of online gambling was the 2007 US crackdown on online gambling. One particular indictment on BetUS.com where the Feds alleged that the defendants facilitated payments of more than $150 million to illegal Internet gambling websites. And U.S. government seizer of $24 million from bank accounts linked to Bodog, claiming, the sports betting giant was operating illegal-under-U.S.-law Internet gaming operation. These crackdowns sent bookies, sports book agencies and handicappers swarming to Costa Rica. Online business opened faster then a popped champagne cork, with celebrating profits flowing just as fast. Hundreds of mini online sports booking and casino sites opened up overnight in San Jose and in other parts of Costa rica.

Not only that, but the resort and hotel hype of such places like White House Hotel and Casinos, of “Try your luck” at our legal gambling skyrocketed, but the isolated, mom and pop establishments began opening up the slots, card tables, Caribbean and Texas Hold ‘Em poker, mini baccarat, blackjack, canasta roulette, craps, rows of slot machines and video machines. Ask any taxi driver and your gambling needs will be taken care of, regardless of what town you are in.

Casinos are now all over Costa Rica and it is estimated that over 20% of all travelers, travel just for the adult entertainments of sex and gambling.

On a recent trip to Golfito, I meant a heavy set man who was the salesperson for a slot machine company in La Vegas. He was huffing and puffing with appointment after appointment of slot machine orders from small towns that bordered Panama. In most cases, slot machines were being shipped to mom and pop casinos from Panama, where there was little or no government control. Payments for the slots were a percentage of the take until the machines paid for them, which was usually within six months.