Bodog poker sent out e-mails this weekend asking customers in 20 countries to withdraw all funds from their accounts. The original e-mail was short on details, but follow up e-
mails confirmed that Bodog Poker was experiencing problems with payment processing in those markets.
The e-mail went out to Bodog Poker players in the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Speculation on poker forums is running rampant, but Bodog has kept mum on the details. A Bodog spokesperson did, however, give the following statement to a reporter from PokerNewsReport.com:
“(Bodog is going to) concentrate on our strengths and where we can offer the best product. 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.co.uk will concentrate on growing existing markets.”
One popular, and unconfirmed, theory is that Bodog is exiting the tightly regulated EU markets in favor of the unregulated Asian market.
Bodog is apparently still in good financial shape, but has been through some struggles lately. Within the last couple years they’ve withdrawn from the Italian, French and Spanish markets.
Given the Maryland indictment against Bodog founder Calvin Ayre, it’s unlikely they’ll have much chance at entering the American market any time soon.
What do you think is behind Bodog’s big departure? Share your thought on our Online Gambling Newswire Forum.