How safe is Calvin Ayre from the U.S. government?

[MichaelCorfman]

Calvin Ayre is a charismatic business person, and one who has earned my respect. But his high-profile in the iGaming business has its risks. As we reported in our article in this week's GPWA Times newsletter, IRS seizes more than $24 million from payment processors after two-year Bodog probe.

You can bet IRS Special Agent Randall Carrow, who worked on the Bodog investigation, has his sights on putting Calvin behind bars, and not just seizing a few million dollars, which is hardly a drop in the bucket for a company like Bodog. And you can bet there is an arrest warrant outstanding.

Now Calvin's smart enough not to set foot on U.S. soil. But the right political pressure can result in an arrest overseas with extradition to the United States for a trial. What do you think the odds are that the U.S. government would actually attempt and then succeed in such a plan?

Michael

[TheGooner]

I think that the possibility of extradition from another country is pretty low- probably less than 1%.

Even an organisation as warped as the US federal goevernment cannot possibly be linking sports betting into their much loved "war on terror" excuse ... and so I cannot see political pressure ever really being exerted.

Sports betting and running a legal sports betting book in an approved jurisdiction is not a crime in most of the Western world. Extradition doesn't seem viable.


Of course if Ayre does happen to wander past a US customs point ...

[Doolally]

Even an organisation as warped as the US federal goevernment cannot possibly be linking sports betting into their much loved "war on terror" excuse ...

You must be forgetting that the UIGEA was tagged onto the Port Securities Bill - they are fit for anything!!

[thepokerkeep]

In this wacked out world that GW Bush controls anything can happen. Calvin could be kidnapped and turned over to the US through many unorthodox channels.

I voted for the "Fairly Safe" option.

[ChrisB]

The US Government thinks it runs the world, and in their extra-territorialist approach they will try to do what they damn well like. Don't forget they have previous on this, such as the Nat-West guys extradited as 'terrorists' for their involvement in Enron. Of 35 people sent to the US from the UK, supposedly under the fast-track terrorist legislation, only seven have been what the rest of us would call on terrorist charges. How many have come the other way?
But then again, as a US national, he's probably pretty safe. They only pick on nationals from other countries.
My rating 50/50.

[matted]

Interesting poll...

The caveat on this poll is that the current administration is winding down. I am not sure if the next president (and his staff) is going to feel like prosecuting the heathens who think gambling is entertainment.

I think if he is caught on US friendly turf he may get turned over to the US. But I imagine he has the resources (and advance planning) to deal with such a situation.

[LiveCasinoPartners]

Maybe I watch too many movies, but I think that there's some prosecutors out there who are drooling to make his (or her) career out of Ayre's case.

[bonustreak]

Who has the deepest pockets the gov or Calvin? I just traveled to Costa and let me tell you it is a very poor country and we all know money talks and bullshit walks. Calvin is a smart cookie I some how think he had all his chest pieces well placed and has been ready for this for yrs now. The only thing that will be his downfall I think is the players/affiliates not being taken care of as they should have been from the start up of these issues.

I can bet he has a nice tidy sum all socked away nice and good that the gov will never ever find that will bankroll him for years.

[Chips]

I feel certain he has many safeguards in place and has no plans of attempting a US or US territory visit. Any man that is savvy enough to make the income he did is surely not foolish in his ways.