Today I had noticed a movement on the domain name Bodog.com, with the domain itself transferring to SafeNames corporate domain registrar. This domain rang a bell to me, because I recall it was seized by the US governments ICE division back in 2012.
It was seized and transferred in 2007 over a technology dispute but Bodog latter got the domain back. GamblingSite.com article
The domain was seized by ICE in 2012 and had been since: LATimes.com article
After looking into the movement (which is pretty rare on a seized domain name), I was able to find a Wikipedia page stating:
In July 2017, the Bodog.com domain name has been returned in exchange for a $100,000 payment after Chief Judge Catherine Blake of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland accepted a resolution that dismissed all of the felony charges against Bodog and its founder.
Some further details are provided on CalvinAyre.com here. With the statement of:
CalvinAyre.com understands that the domain was purchased by friends of Ayre, and that the feds have placed no restrictions on its use, which virtually guarantees that the well-known domain will re-enter the gambling market in some form at some future date.
Based on the above comment, it would appear Calvin Ayre did not pay the “exchange” for the domain name, but “friends of Ayre” did. Bodog.com is currently redirecting to the CalvinAyre.com article linked above and it is not clear who the current owner(s) are. Bodog.com and CalvinAyre.com are at the same domain registrar SafeNames under whois privacy.
I’m not sure if this is technically considered a “domain sale” for the $100K, who gets the $100K etc but it’s clear the $100K was paid in exchange for the Bodog.com domain name.
