Ayre: Arrests will not harm online gaming industry

Canadian billionaire Calvin Ayre, founder and CEO of Internet casino Bodog.com, said yesterday that the arrest of a US online gambling executive would not threaten his industry and that his business will operate as usual.

The US crackdown on online gambling prompted concern yesterday among government officials in Antigua, which has become an offshore haven for the industry.

US officials on Monday charged 11 people, including BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers, with conspiracy, racketeering and fraud for taking sports bets from US residents.

Sunday’s arrest in Texas of Carruthers, chief executive of the online gambling company BetOnSports, could appear ”ominous” to other businesses, “but that is not the case at all,” Ayre said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

“The charges are specific to the person and company at issue, and has nothing to do with Bodog.com’s current or previous business practices,” he wrote.