Bodog to leave US market

[daweller]

I did not receive this email and we have sent them 83 registrations so far this month. Is that not enough to be put in the picture by the Bodog or Morris Mohawk (or whoever actually runs the US operation) affiliate department? I hope you are all correct about the migration process not affecting affiliates negatively. It seems to me that affiliates tend to get well and truly stuffed on these occasions and recent experience shows what a bunch of clowns (or worse) the USA-facing sportsbooks are as a community. I hope all the faith people are putting in Bodog is well founded and that the referrals you make to them now remain associated with you after the swap over at the end of the year. However it appears not to be a Bodog thing at all but the current licensees (Morris Mohawk Gaming) taking over the database of US clients as the cringe-makingly titled "Bodog Brand" removes itself entirely from the USA. All these reassurances have a bit of BetUS deja vu about them. Not happy Bodog could not be bothered to contact us - it is not a good omen.

They contacted me, and I haven't sent them as many regs as you ( did you get them any depositors? ), well I don't think they send emails according to how many players you send them...

Did you check your spam folder?

Anyways, so far it looks like Bodog is doing this right... I mean giving affiliates 5 months notice is far-and-away better than the treatment we received ( and I do mean received ) by other groups.

[alexpratt]

I hope you are all correct about the migration process not affecting affiliates negatively. It seems to me that affiliates tend to get well and truly stuffed on these occasions and recent experience shows what a bunch of clowns (or worse) the USA-facing sportsbooks are as a community. I hope all the faith people are putting in Bodog is well founded and that the referrals you make to them now remain associated with you after the swap over at the end of the year. However it appears not to be a Bodog thing at all but the current licensees (Morris Mohawk Gaming) taking over the database of US clients as the cringe-makingly titled "Bodog Brand" removes itself entirely from the USA. All these reassurances have a bit of BetUS deja vu about them. Not happy Bodog could not be bothered to contact us - it is not a good omen.

Based on experiances with Bodog re the various domain changes, I.e. NewBodog.com, bodog.eu etc. I think the transition will be smooth......also as I understand it MMG already own the database etc, as it was only the brand name that Bodog actually owned - the change is fundamentally uploading new creative and redirecting everything to a new domain so they shouldn't screw up.

I am more interested in what the domain/brand will be......Do you think Bodog might licence them Slots.com instead?!?

[justbookies]

They contacted me, and I haven't sent them as many regs as you ( did you get them any depositors?

I dont think we would be wasting the bulk of our traffic on Bodog if there were no depositors!! Although the relationship between sign-ups and deposits is worse than with other firms, but not by too much. It is certainly nowhere near as good as it used to be with BetUS before they went bad. Converting registrations to depositors has become harder with all this bad publicity surrounding the US scene (Black Friday etc). That is certainly what our stats are suggesting.

Has any other Bodog Affiliate failed to receive an email from Bodog about their exit from the US market?

[Squigley]

Well, I'm certainly nowhere near that level of signups, but I have received nothing so far from Bodog about this.

[nsawins]

I dont think we would be wasting the bulk of our traffic on Bodog if there were no depositors!! Although the relationship between sign-ups and deposits is worse than with other firms, but not by too much. It is certainly nowhere near as good as it used to be with BetUS before they went bad. Converting registrations to depositors has become harder with all this bad publicity surrounding the US scene (Black Friday etc). That is certainly what our stats are suggesting.

Has any other Bodog Affiliate failed to receive an email from Bodog about their exit from the US market?

I did not get an email but I did get a phone call from my affiliate manager after I sent him an email looking for info on the news. Anyway, my AM is a great guy and basically told me that the only changes would be we would be promoting the new USA brand to USA traffic and the BoDog brand to international traffic. All players sent before the change will be migrated over to the new sheet for the USA book.

I did ask him if the new book will get all US players on one sheet and if all international players would be on a seperate sheet with BoDog UK. He did not know yet on that as they have a meeting coming up and he will find out more. So basically we'll either just have all players on one sheet or two seperate sheets(one for US players with the US site, one for internationa players with BoDog).

From my understanding, the new site will be operated the same way it has been for years but just under a new brand/domain. The same BoDog affiliate team will run the affiliate program and BoDog will still be the shot callers. I think it's a smart move to simply protect their BoDog brand name that they've worked hard for years to build and make into the biggest brand name in the market.

Also, I would not ever put BetUS and BoDog in the same sentence as far as integrity and professionalism. Simply no comparison. You have NEVER ever heard of a BoDog player getting stiffed on a payment. BetUS, even prior to their affiliate program debacle, consistently had complaints from players saying they had their funds confiscated or refused to pay. BoDog has been running a flawless operation for players and affiliates for well over a decade now.

They do things the right way. Always have.

[justbookies]

I think it's a smart move to simply protect their BoDog brand name that they've worked hard for years to build and make into the biggest brand name in the market.

Thanks for your feedback nsawins, your info is informative and helpful. Let's hope it is that straightforward. Could you be myBodog AM please?!

One comment - Bodog is a big brand name in North America but nobody (not even Fulham FC supporters!) has ever heard of them in Europe. So they are removing their brand name from the region where it is so well known in favour of the UK & Europe where they are starting from scratch. I think the smart thing they are doing is to ensure nobody ends up in jail.

[nsawins]

Thanks for your feedback nsawins, your info is informative and helpful. Let's hope it is that straightforward. Could you be myBodog AM please?!

One comment - Bodog is a big brand name in North America but nobody (not even Fulham FC supporters!) has ever heard of them in Europe. So they are removing their brand name from the region where it is so well known in favour of the UK & Europe where they are starting from scratch. I think the smart thing they are doing is to ensure nobody ends up in jail.

LOL I hear ya haha. I agree. However, noone should ever underestimate the guys that run BoDog. They have beaten the odds time and time again, been one of the biggest innovators in the industry and have the money and desire to be the best. They wouldn't be doing this unless they were going to do it BIG in the UK and in europe. I would never bet against Calvin and these guys that's for sure.

Anyhow, do you have a BoDog AM? I would send them an email for more info. If you don't have one, send me a PM and I can give you my guy's email.

[nsawins]

BTW, another interesting angle to consider is if BoDog is trying to open up the possibility to actually bring their brand into the US market legally on the poker side at least by working out a deal with a Las Vegas casino if and when poker becomes legalized in the USA. Steve Wynn and his company had a deal in place with Poker Stars for a site I believe was going to be pokerstarswynn.com before Poker Stars was shut down by the US govt.

I believe you will see the Las Vegas casinos partner up with some big established online firms like Wynn/Poker Stars if the US govt legalizes and regulates it so I believe by taking their brand out of the US market now they are also trying to allow themselves the oppurtunity to bring it back in on the poker side of things by partnering up with a Las Vegas casino in the future. I would certainly be looking at that angle if I was running BoDog and those guys are a lot smarter than me lol.

[BodogBecky]

justbookies, I just wanted to confirm that I have received your PM and I will speak with the Director of Affiliates in the office tomorrow morning, OK? I'm not sure how and when the AMs are contacting each affiliate but I can assure you that bodog will not screw anyone- the decision makers are good, honest people who I have known on a personal level for years. They have your best interest in mind, I promise!

Becky

[Nodepositworld]

Ahem...

Bald AND bold...gotta like that

[justbookies]

I just wanted to confirm that I have received your PM and I will speak with the Director of Affiliates in the office tomorrow morning, OK?

Many thanks Becky. I guess recent unpleasant experiences with BetUS and Bookmaker have made me jumpy when not kept informed. I appreciate you are a different kettle of fish and you do have affiliates I respect praising you. I have never had an issue with Bodog myself over the years, except that the communication has sometimes been lacking. Maybe it is because we are Europe-based that we are handled by an AM who is Europe focused, but we only promote Bodog to the USA.

[BodogBecky]

Many thanks Becky. I guess recent unpleasant experiences with BetUS and Bookmaker have made me jumpy when not kept informed. I appreciate you are a different kettle of fish and you do have affiliates I respect praising you. I have never had an issue with Bodog myself over the years, except that the communication has sometimes been lacking. Maybe it is because we are Europe-based that we are handled by an AM who is Europe focused, but we only promote Bodog to the USA.

My pleasure and I completely understand why US facing affiliates are jumpy these days, no worries about that.

[justbookies]

My pleasure and I completely understand why US facing affiliates are jumpy these days, no worries about that.

Thanks Becky. Marc Yott has contacted me today and has been very helpful and taken over our account - so we are back on track and in US-facing hands. Impressive stuff from Bodog.

[BodogBecky]

Thanks Becky. Marc Yott has contacted me today and has been very helpful and taken over our account - so we are back on track and in US-facing hands. Impressive stuff from Bodog.

Excellent news!! I appreciate the update!

Becky

[JakeW]

Has Bodog announced its new brand name yet for it's US facing business or is this a closely guarded secret?

[Buddy M]

I didnt get an email yet either, but I have to say I don't feel Bodog is going to do this move in anyway but a professional manner. These guys seem like solid business people and while I was never "close" to the affiliate team they have one of the best programs out there, they always pay out on time and have always kept us informed of what they were doing. It's a first class operation and I just dont think they are out to get us affiliates. It seems that they laid out their plans for the furture and I have believe they will keep us in the know along the way. They realize if, (more like when) the US market opens up they want a nice piece of that pie, they are too smart to cut off ties with people who partnered with them for years.

[BodogBecky]

Has Bodog announced its new brand name yet for it's US facing business or is this a closely guarded secret?

Alwyn Morris of MMGG will announce the new brand name when he has decided on it!

Becky