Bodog Casino leaving the US

It’s becoming more and more difficult to find a good online casino available for players in the United States.  All my favorite Microgaming casinos seemed to have pulled out of the market. Now the news is that Bodog casino (and poker room and sports betting) is leaving the good ol’ USA.

The reason behind the departure – the Brits.  It seems we make them nervous. Or more precisely our confusing online gambling laws make them nervous. Bodog wanted a license to offer online gambling in the UK and they got it. But the UK Gambling Commission brought up one little detail – they weren’t thrilled with the fact that Bodog was operating in the US. The fantastic failures of the Cereus Network and Full Tilt Poker after being forced out of the US market was really making the UK folks stop and think. And they thought – this is the best market to be operating in.

Now, Bodog considered the matter and realized that their license with Mohawk Gambling was expiring at the end of the year and this would be the perfect time not to renew the license and just quietly pull out.   So they’ll be focusing on building their UK, EU and Asia business until the US gets its gambling act together.

The good news for Bodog players is that since this is a planned departure, they will be able to withdraw their money from their accounts. No one is losing anything!  The other good news is Mohawk Gambling has announced that they’ll be starting up their own gambling brand to keep the business running and that player will be able just to transfer their accounts if they wish.