Calvin Ayre
Encyclopedia
Bodog
Bodog is an online entertainment brand launched in 1994 by Calvin Ayre.Originally the company traded at but the brand was later divested and intellectual property rights were assigned to and consolidated in BodogBrand.com...
online gaming and entertainment brand, which he developed and launched in 1994. Ayre received a Bachelor of Sciences (BSc) in General Sciences from the University of Waterloo in 1984. In 1989, Ayre earned an MBA in Management Finance from City University in Seattle, Washington.
Association With BodogBodogBodog is an online entertainment brand launched in 1994 by Calvin Ayre.Originally the company traded at but the brand was later divested and intellectual property rights were assigned to and consolidated in BodogBrand.com...
In 1994, Ayre sold everything he owned and with $10,000 to his name he assembled his team and launched the original BodogBodog
Bodog is an online entertainment brand launched in 1994 by Calvin Ayre.Originally the company traded at but the brand was later divested and intellectual property rights were assigned to and consolidated in BodogBrand.com...
. Originally conceived of as a software development company, Ayre's vision for "Bodog" rapidly evolved into an online gaming website, and then to a global brand licensing enterprise that would see the brand spanning a number of non-gaming entertainment sectors.
As the face of the Bodog brand, Ayre’s notoriety skyrocketed in the mid-2000s as online gaming’s popularity surged. Ayre’s public profile went mainstream when he was featured as the cover story for Forbes Magazine's 2006 annual “Billionaires” edition., leading to being featured in People Magazine’s “Hottest Bachelor” list a few months later, and Star Magazine’s "Most Eligible Billionaire Bachelors” list in late 2007.
In a 2009 interview Ayre stated that, following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, the organization that he led and that had been accepting customers from the United States withdrew from that market, instead licensing the brand to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group
Morris Mohawk Gaming Group
The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group is an online gambling company best known for its “Bodog”-branded website, www.bodog.eu. The MMGG site maintains an online sports and racebook, an online casino and an online poker room....
, which then operated its own online gaming website servicing the US under the Bodog brand. After undertaking what Ayre describes as “transitional media relations” following the brand license arrangement, Ayre announced his retirement in April 2008, indicating that he intended to devote his time to The Calvin Ayre Foundation.
BodogBrand.com and CalvinAyre.com
Ayre retains an interest in the brand licensing organization BodogBrand.com, which owns and licenses the Bodog brand to various "brand licensees" in the entertainment sector.In November, 2009, Ayre launched CalvinAyre.com, a "tabloid blog" or "tablog" targeted at the online gaming industry.
Ayre was interviewed extensively regarding his role as founder of the Bodog brand and his views on online sportsbetting in a feature article in the January 2011 edition of Playboy entitled “Welcome to the No Fun League – The NFL vs. Gambling” by Matthew Kredell.
Kredell drew a distinction between Ayre’s strategies when the brand was founded and those of the brand’s competition, noting that “Bodog” was positioned as “…a lifestyle, a brand that had personality and sold gambling as entertainment. [Ayre] made himself the public image of the company, modeling his strategy after those of Richard Branson, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Hugh Hefner, Paris Hilton and Donald Trump.”
Calvin Ayre Foundation
Founded in 2005, the Calvin Ayre Foundation, which is administered from LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, is a private and independent foundation with a charter to do charitable work worldwide. With Ayre as Chairman, the Foundation has pledged millions of dollars and hundreds of hours in support of individuals, communities and charitable organizations throughout the world. Included among those charities are the Fisher House Foundation, the LA Lakers Youth Foundation, the Humane Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Animal Avengers Organization, and the Sean McCauley Hope Foundation for Pediatric Cancer.
In 2007 the Calvin Ayre Foundation announced a program with the World Society for the Protection of Animals
World Society for the Protection of Animals
The World Society for the Protection of Animals is an international non-profit animal welfare organization and also a federation of such organisations and active in over 150 countries with more than 1000 member societies.- Organization :...
to combat the practice of farming Asian bears for their bile for the Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
market.
The Calvin Ayre Foundation’s own initiatives include the Sponsor a School Project, which provides students living in underdeveloped nations opportunities for a quality education, and the Sponsor a Family Project, which provides financial support for the immediate families of sponsored students.