Sportsbook Reviews » Costa Rica

Even Calvin Ayre wants to enter Bodog’s ‘live like Calvin’ contest

Steven Stradbrooke — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 01:38:03 +0000

Calvin Ayre is pissed. Not ‘wasted’ pissed, more like ‘fuck the fucking fuckers’ pissed-off pissed. What’s got him so riled? Well, it’s because all the various Bodog Brand licensees will soon be running contests in which players will have a chance to win all-expenses-paid five-day descents into hedonistic debauchery at the infamous Bodog Compound in Costa Rica. Due to his connection with the Bodog Brand, Calvin is therefore not eligible to enter the contest, and he’s not taking it well.

Of course, Bodog has no interest in killing off any of its players, so industry stalwart Tom Jensen was selected as a guinea pig to see how much abuse the average human heart/liver can stand. Tom got to spend close to a week living the high life at the Bodog Compound, taking part in a video shoot that will attempt to offer a two-dimensional preview of what the contest winners will experience once they get behind the Compound walls. To read Tom’s heart-of-darkness war-diaries, click here.

Costa Rica President Defends US Marines Presence: Online Gambling Operators Balk

C Costigan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:44:39 +0000

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Online gambling operators in the Central American nation of Costa Rica expressed little concern over the 7000 US Marines deployed there to deal with the escalating drug crisis.

Protests as U.S. Marines prepare to hit the beach in Costa Rica

Steven Stradbrooke — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:36:00 +0000

There’s angst aplenty in Costa Rica, as the first of the estimated 7,000 U.S. Marines load themselves into the landing craft for their ‘invasion’ of the Central American nation, which just happens to be home to half the online bookmakers in the western hemisphere. The move is supposedly intended to help combat drug trafficking (but do enjoy this list of alternate theories – our favorite is “to provide a boost to lagging sex tourism”).

Meanwhile, opposition parties are protesting what they regard as their government’s unprecedented and unnecessary surrender of sovereignty. The head of one opposition party said the legislative approval given to the Marines was like handing over a “blank check.” That’s a dangerous thing to hand the Americans, given that their national debt is now over 13 trillion dollars. Read more.

700 US Marines Land in Costa Rica Online Gambling Haven

Alejandro Botticelli — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:23:07 +0000

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It is home to a few hundred online gambling ventures, many of which operate in the shadows. Costa Rica has long been a country without an army….that is until now.

Costa Rican gambling employees to protest gov’t tax plan

Steven Stradbrooke — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:56:46 +0000

On July 20th, hundreds of employees of Costa Rica-based online gambling operations are planning to march on the country’s Legislative Assembly to voice their displeasure at the government’s plan to impose a tax on their employers. The tax, which is to be used to combat the country’s rampant crime problems, is expected to raise $110M/year, an amount the Betting Employees Association says is excessive and will result in massive layoffs. (Say, this protest march isn’t why the government invited in the Marines, is it?) To read a Spanish-language of this report, click here.

Costa Rica allows 7,000 US Marines to roam country

Steven Stradbrooke — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:16:42 +0000

It appears that Costa Rica’s reputation as the Switzerland of Central America may be a thing of the past. The country’s Congress has just authorized the presence of 46 U.S. Navy vessels off the Costa Rican coasts between July 1 and Dec. 31 of this year to conduct anti-narcotic operations and humanitarian missions. Besides the ships, which have a capacity to transport 200 helicopters and planes, 7,000 Marines will be allowed to enter and leave the country at will, without restriction.

Opposition parties Citizen Action (CAP), Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) and Frente Amplio (FA) have expressed dismay at the deal, claiming that the sheer number of ships, helicopters and Marines involved is vastly out of proportion to the threat posed by drug trafficking. The deputy of the PUSC, Luis Fishman, also believes that the presence of American troops violates Costa Rica’s sovereignty. With Costa Rica being home to a vast number of U.S.-facing online gambling sites for which the U.S. has no great love, will we now see a stampede of operators heading for friendlier climes, like, say, Antigua?

To read a Spanish-language article on the subject, click here.

Bodog’s Costa Rica compound — Pura Vida… Pura Fun!

Calvin Ayre — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 02:45:23 +0000

As many of you know, before I moved to Antigua, my primary residence was a fabulous compound in Costa Rica that was the host site for events such as Calvin Ayre WildCard Poker, numerous filmed appearances including MTV Cribs, as well as so many parties that my poor brain can probably only recall half of them. (Perhaps that’s why I decided to move, I don’t know!)

None of these shindigs would have been possible if the compound didn’t have a crack support staff seeing to all the minor details that make each event such a pleasant and memorable experience for our guests. Every so often, I like to turn the tables so that these hard working, dedicated staff members get to enjoy things from a guest’s perspective. The photos included here are from our most recent staff party, where these behind the scenes stars get the royal treatment they deserve for keeping the Bodog compound running at a peak level, day in, day out, all year long.

I don’t get back to Costa Rica much these days, so I wasn’t there to see how much fun everyone was having, but I am currently working on a deal with Bodog Europe to once again use the compound for the kind of promotions that it was originally designed to host. So if at some future date, any of you reading this are privileged enough to get to visit the compound in person, be sure to pass on your thanks to the unsung heroes that help make it the paradise on earth that it is.

Costa Rica gov’t to fight crime by taxing online gambling

Calvin Ayre — Sat, 08 May 2010 08:40:25 +0000

Costa Rica's new president Laura Chinchilla

Laura Chinchilla is to be sworn in as Costa Rica’s new president on Saturday. Part of her announced program will be to increase taxes on casino and online gambling businesses, and to apply those tax revenues to combatting the country’s growing rate of violent crime.

While I’m not usually a tax-and-spend advocate, I’m pleased to see Costa Rican officials eager to tackle the criminal elements plaguing the country. As you may already be aware, Bodog was based out of Costa Rica until 2006, when it shifted its headquarters to Antigua. I myself lived there for a decade before I too moved to Antigua. But part of the reason behind my decision to move was the day that began with me going to look at some real estate and ended with me being pistol whipped by Costa Rican gang members. If anyone ever wondered why armed guards and bulletproof Hummers feature so prominently in some of my television appearances, there’s your fucking answer.

At one time, Costa Rica was the center of online gaming in the Americas. It has since lost most of its non-credit online gaming companies to licensed jurisdictions like Antigua, Kahnawake and Europe. (Costa Rica’s new government is actually considering instituting a licensing regime similar to Antigua, which does not allow credit gaming operations, a move I wholeheartedly support.) While Costa Rica is no longer the place I call home, it will always have a special place both in my heart and in Bodog history. The Bodog Compound is still in Costa Rica and Bodog Europe will continue using it for various types of promotions. Bodog Europe is also planning to purchase an historic building in Central London that will be renovated and renamed Bodog House. With any luck, it will eventually occupy a similarly debauched position in the minds of the online gambling industry and the public at large.

Chinchilla Hopes to Tax Online Gambling in Costa Rica

C Costigan — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:22:51 +0000

The first female President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, looks to raise money by taxing that Central American nation's expansive online gambling business. Most of the North American facing onl

Costa Rica Government Will Become Bookie for Soccer

Alistair Prescott — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:58:52 +0000

AM Costa Rica is reporting that the Costa Rican government is set to enter the bookmaker business, just in time for the 2010 World Cup.

Costa Rican Sportsbooks Respond to Recent Arrests

Gambling911.com RSS News Feed — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:38:48 +0000

By Chrissie Long, Tico Times Staff

Tour of the bodog COMPOUND with bodog Becky

Calvin Ayre — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:06:25 +0000

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