Former Bodog Staff Say the Website is in Danger
by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
After allegations that Bodog will have tough time finding sufficient payment processors, the online wagering website has tried to assure its users that recent cutbacks involved its support companies rather than Bodog itself. However, according to some former staff, things aren’t as peachy as they seem.
Following the recent management change, many long term employees have expressed their frustrations with the organization. Gambling911.com reports that in job-related posting forums, employees “paint quite a grim picture of the company, different than what we observed in the last six years.”
The first indications of an internal conflict at Bodog were seen after one branch of the internet gambling site was terminated overnight. Bodog Fight, which was the organizations Mixed Martial Arts enterprise, was apparently unable to pay some of its workers and uphold a contract agreement, leading to its eventual demise.
Matt Lindlad, a Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic silver-medalist reports that he signed on with Bodog Fight, in a one year contract that included three fights. Since then, Lindland claims that Bodog never allotted him two of the three fights in the agreement, and that he is still owed money.
“I lived up to my end of the bargain,” says Lindland. “I haven’t fought since April, anticipating two more fights with Bodog.
“My contract was with Sixth Row Productions. Bodog and Sixth Row intermingled funds. I mean, I could go after Bodog Fight, but they have no assets. They set up these shell companies and they’re not paying their fighters. They don’t honor their contracts. It was very disappointing.”
The reports don’t stop there, however. Many have said that Calvin Ayre got out of the game at the most opportune time, freeing him from U.S. Department of Justice laws and the internal issues with the company’s management. According to a former staff member for Bodog Music’s “Battle of the Bands” program, employees were given a divided share of nearly one million dollars to deposit in several Bank of America accounts so that the money could be easily transferred from the U.S. without attracting unwanted attention from the IRS.
“I know that outside of the gambling industry no one respects this brand and no one gives them any credit for their success as large as they might be. Business is business and Bodog had to do what they had to do to protect themselves but people have a right to know they are putting themselves at risk when working for an online gambling company,” the former employee reports.
More layoffs are expected to ensue in the near future, leaving more angry employees with comments on the site’s integrity. Sources say that Bodog will remain open to the U.S. internet wagering market via NFL and College Football season, but that the chance of Bodog leaving the states is very good.
“It’s really bad at Bodog,” opined a source for Gambling911, “They want to pay people (customers). That’s not the issue. The problem is they can’t find processing. The processors are out there but none of them want to deal with Bodog right now because they are considered such a high profile target.”
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