In the mid-2000s, a typical American sports fan eager to bet on an NFL Sunday might log onto a website based in Antigua or Costa Rica, rather than walking into a Las Vegas casino. For decades before legal sports gambling spread across the United States, offshore sportsbooks were the only game in town for most U.S. bettors. Websites like Bodog, BetOnline, and later Bovada – operating from tropical islands or foreign territories – became the central hub for Americans’ sports wagers, thriving in a legal gray area. This is the story of how these offshore betting sites rose to prominence, served millions of U.S. customers prior to legalization in 2018, and why they remain influential even after the fall of PASPA. It’s a tale of innovation, legal loopholes, and an enduring cat-and-mouse dynamic between offshore operators and American authorities (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN) (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN).

Betting in the Shadows: PASPA and the Rise of the Offshore Market

In 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was enacted, effectively banning state-authorized sports betting nationwide (with a few exceptions like Nevada). Ironically, this federal prohibition fostered a massive black market for sports wagers (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN) (Chalk - A timeline of how we got to legalized sports betting - ESPN). With Las Vegas bookies as the only legal outlet, demand far outstripped supply. By the mid-1990s, enterprising bookmakers found a workaround: move operations offshore. In places like the Caribbean (Antigua, Curacao) and Central America (Costa Rica, Panama), online sportsbooks could operate legally and take bets from Americans over phone or internet. 

The advent of the internet turbocharged this trend. The first online sports bet was placed in 1996 via Intertops, a Europe-based bookmaker that had launched one of the world’s first digital sportsbooks (The History of Sports Betting: From Antiquity to 2025). Soon, “offshore” betting websites multiplied, targeting U.S. customers who had no domestic online option. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, dozens of offshore books – with names like World Sports Exchange, Sportsbook.com, and BetUS – sprang up to meet America’s appetite for sports gambling. PASPA’s ban didn’t stop betting; it simply pushed it underground or overseas. By the 2000s, the American Gaming Association estimated that U.S. bettors were wagering over $150 billion annually through illicit channels, including offshore sites and local bookies (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN). These offshore odds even seeped into the mainstream – it was not uncommon to see point spreads from a site like Bovada mentioned on sports TV or websites, lending an aura of legitimacy to the unregulated market (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN).

Early Online Sportsbooks Find a Home Offshore

Offshore sportsbooks flourished because they offered something unavailable at home: a convenient, online way to bet on sports. Antigua and Costa Rica were among the first havens. In 1994, Antigua became one of the earliest jurisdictions to license online gambling, positioning itself as a hub for internet betting businesses. One pioneer, World Sports Exchange (WSEX), was founded in Antigua in 1996 by American entrepreneurs and quickly became a powerhouse, handling “hundreds of millions” in bets annually from U.S. customers (Former fugitive sports gambling employee avoids U.S. prison term | Reuters) (Former fugitive sports gambling employee avoids U.S. prison term | Reuters). WSEX’s success (and later prosecution) would foreshadow the conflicted relationship between U.S. law and offshore betting: in 2000, co-founder Jay Cohen became the first offshore operator convicted under U.S. federal law for running an illegal online sportsbook, serving 21 months in prison under the Wire Act (Former fugitive sports gambling employee avoids U.S. prison term | Reuters) (Former fugitive sports gambling employee avoids U.S. prison term | Reuters). His conviction sent a warning, but it did little to stem the overall tide of Americans’ money flowing to offshore betting sites.

Through the late 1990s, more operators set up shop in places like Costa Rica – a country that offered a friendly regulatory environment and a cadre of English-speaking staff. By the early 2000s, online sportsbooks were proliferating, and American bettors could choose from a buffet of offshore websites eager for their business. This era saw a mix of tech startups and traditional bookmakers going offshore. Amid this burgeoning scene, a few brands emerged as especially influential – none more so than Calvin Ayre’s Bodog.

Bodog: The Party King of Offshore Betting

In the pantheon of offshore sportsbooks, Bodog holds a special place. Launched in 2000 by Canadian entrepreneur Calvin Ayre (who at first hid under the alias “Cole Turner”), Bodog combined online gambling with brash marketing and a VIP lifestyle image. The company’s origin story is the stuff of industry lore: Bodog’s platform evolved from software Ayre had developed, and it famously gained an initial boost by swooping in to take over the customer accounts of a rival that had gone offline (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog). By early 2001, U.S. bettors who had accounts at a defunct site called Mayan Sports were surprised to receive an email from a then-unknown Bodog.com, informing them that their logins would now work on Bodog – essentially snagging a competitor’s player base overnight (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog). It was a controversial move (the outraged Mayan Sports accused Bodog of theft), but it exemplified the Wild West ethos of the early offshore industry.

Under Ayre’s flamboyant leadership, Bodog grew into a juggernaut of the mid-2000s online gambling scene. The site attracted legions of American bettors with its wide menu of sports lines, slick poker and casino offerings, and an edgy brand that plastered the Bodog name on MMA fights, poker tournaments, and even a reality TV series. Ayre himself became something of a celebrity – a self-styled playboy billionaire. Bodog’s business, however, always operated in a legal gray zone. The company was headquartered offshore (with offices in Costa Rica and Antigua) and took pains to route money covertly. U.S. customers could deposit by credit card or wire transfers that were processed through intermediaries around the world. According to U.S. prosecutors, over a span of just a few years Bodog paid out more than $100 million in winnings to American bettors through payment processors in Europe, Canada and elsewhere (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times). To fuel its growth, Bodog also spent lavishly on advertising – an estimated $42 million on a U.S.-targeted ad campaign over three years (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times) – despite the murky legality of promoting online betting in America.

By 2006, Bodog was riding high, but the winds were shifting. That year the U.S. cracked down via a new law, and Bodog soon became entangled in legal battles (more on that in a moment). Sensing danger, Ayre began re-positioning his empire. In 2007, Bodog’s brand and North America operations were officially licensed to a sovereign first nations territory in Canada (the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve) via a partner company, and Ayre claimed to be merely a “brand licensor” expanding Bodog to legal markets abroad (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog) (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog). This set the stage for a major change: on December 14, 2011, Bodog suddenly pulled its brand out of the U.S. market. Instead of logging into Bodog.com, American customers were redirected to a new site: Bovada.lv, a U.S.-only offshoot meant to keep serving Americans without the Bodog name attached (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog). Bodog had effectively rebranded itself in the States – a strategic move to shield the parent brand from U.S. legal heat while Bovada continued taking bets from Americans. (Outside the U.S., the Bodog brand lived on in Europe, Canada, and Asia.)

The gambit was timely. Just a few months later, in early 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Bodog’s operators. Calvin Ayre himself was indicted on charges of running an illegal gambling business and money laundering, and federal agents even seized the Bodog.com domain, replacing the homepage with a federal notice (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times) (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times). The case painted Bodog as one of the largest illicit betting operations catering to Americans, with prosecutors noting the company’s hundreds of employees abroad and Ayre’s personal wealth (he had once been featured on Forbes’ billionaire list) (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times). Ayre, safely outside U.S. jurisdiction, derided the charges as “abuse of the US criminal justice system” on his website, and indeed he never came to the U.S. to face trial (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times). (Years later, the charges against Ayre would quietly be dropped after he reached a settlement, but by then the landscape had begun to change.) The Bodog saga exemplified the offshores’ golden era: audacious growth and profits shadowed by constant legal peril.

BetOnline: An Old-School Bookmaker Goes Offshore

While Bodog grabbed headlines, another offshore stalwart, BetOnline, built its own American following by embracing a more traditional bookmaking ethos. BetOnline’s roots trace back to a U.S. bookie operation run by a man known as “Joe Junior” in upstate New York (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). In the 1990s, Joe Junior was a small-time bookmaker taking action on games in Rochester. After a few too many run-ins with the law – and facing the reality that his trade was outright illegal on U.S. soil – he decided to move abroad. He landed in Costa Rica, a country that by the late ‘90s had become a haven for online sportsbooks, and in 2001 he launched an internet betting site called BestLineSports (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline).

BestLineSports catered to American bettors and steadily grew. It even merged with or attracted other U.S. bookmakers who sought refuge offshore. One early partner, known by the pseudonym “John Magnum,” had been running an offshore book since 1996 and brought with him a large client list of U.S. players, helping BestLineSports rapidly expand its customer base (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline) (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). By the mid-2000s the operation had investors and had relocated to Panama, another friendly jurisdiction for gambling sites (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). Sometime around 2006-07, amid industry upheaval, BestLineSports made a bold leap: it acquired the domain BetOnline.com and rebranded under that name (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). The timing was no accident. In 2006, the U.S. Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), a law that didn’t outlaw online betting per se, but made it a crime for banks or payment processors to knowingly move money for online gambling. UIGEA’s passage on October 13, 2006 sent shockwaves through the offshore industry – hundreds of smaller gambling sites quickly pulled out of the U.S. market out of fear (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). Sensing opportunity, the BestLine crew snapped up the desirable BetOnline.com name from another company that was struggling post-UIGEA (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). In effect, as some competitors retreated, BetOnline doubled down on serving U.S. customers.

The strategy paid off. BetOnline grew into one of the largest offshore sportsbooks still openly taking American action. It gained a reputation as a no-frills sportsbook with high limits and a wide array of betting lines – from NFL Sunday spreads to obscure prop bets – and it proudly touted that it “Never” left the U.S. market even during crackdowns. That’s not to say BetOnline’s ride was smooth. In 2009, federal agents arrested Joe Junior (the founder) in a sweep titled “Operation Betting It All,” which alleged a $20 million-a-month bookmaking ring tied to New York mob families (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline) (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). The case painted a cinematic picture of organized crime, though in reality BetOnline’s pay-per-head service was simply being used by various independent bookies, some with mob ties. Joe Junior and other partners were indicted, and by 2010 the original founder and early crew had been bought out of the company following the legal trouble (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). Yet BetOnline itself kept running under new management – by then the brand and operation had grown larger than any one person. Headquartered in Panama City, BetOnline continued to advertise itself as a “trusted” sportsbook for U.S. players, surviving the legal turbulence that took down many others.

The Legal Gray Zone: How They Got Away With It

That Bodog, BetOnline, Bovada and their peers managed to operate for so long begs the question: how exactly were Americans able to bet with these sites, given U.S. laws against sports betting? The answer lies in a legal gray zone born of jurisdictional gaps and enforcement challenges. The sportsbooks themselves were typically legal businesses in their host countries – places like Antigua, Costa Rica, or Panama licensed and regulated online gambling within their borders. They argued that as long as they were complying with local laws, they weren’t technically doing anything wrong. U.S. authorities, of course, disagreed, but faced a dilemma: they had no direct authority to shut down a website operating legally overseas. American law (like the Federal Wire Act of 1961) could deem it illegal to accept sports bets from U.S. customers across state or national lines, but enforcing that against a foreign entity was arduous.

For years, this standoff played out in a few ways. U.S. law enforcement occasionally targeted the individuals behind offshore books – typically arresting owners or employees if they set foot on U.S. soil. (Jay Cohen of WSEX, for example, returned to the U.S. and was promptly tried and jailed in 2000 (Former fugitive sports gambling employee avoids U.S. prison term | Reuters).) They also went after the money, seizing funds in transit. In Bodog’s case, federal investigators secretly seized around $24 million of Bodog’s U.S. payout funds in 2008 by grabbing money from payment processors handling their transactions (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog). This put a squeeze on Bodog – at one point, U.S. players experienced payout delays of months as the company scrambled around the seizures (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog). Another tactic was domain seizures and civil lawsuits. In 2007, Bodog lost a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. that led to its .com domain being temporarily taken away (unrelated to gambling law) (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog) (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog), and later in 2012 the U.S. government seized Bodog’s domain outright during the criminal indictment (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times). But seizing a domain name was more symbolic than crippling – sites could pop back up under new web addresses (Bovada’s .lv domain, for instance, became well-known). Meanwhile, payment cat-and-mouse continued: offshore books constantly devised new ways for Americans to deposit and withdraw (prepaid gift cards, e-wallets, shell companies, and later cryptocurrency) to evade detection under UIGEA’s bank restrictions.

Critically, one thing U.S. authorities almost never did was prosecute individual bettors. The legal risk was largely on the operators, which meant American customers felt little fear in placing bets online – a key reason the offshore market thrived. It helped, too, that offshores were often shrouded in ambiguity. Many U.S. bettors only vaguely understood the legality and often assumed if the site was easily accessible and taking their credit card, it must be okay. (In reality, bettors were breaking the law in some states, but enforcement was unheard of.) As a result, engaging with offshore sportsbooks became a habit for a generation of sports fans (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN). By the 2010s, millions of Americans had accounts at sites like Bovada or BetOnline, and those brands had built up years of trust (or at least familiarity) with their users.

U.S. legislation did manage to trim the field over time. The UIGEA in 2006 was a turning point, prompting many publicly traded gaming companies (especially those in the UK) to exit the U.S. market to avoid legal liability. Notably, industry giant PartyGaming (known for poker) pulled out, and even some sportsbook operators shut down U.S. access – BetOnSports, one of the largest offshores of the early 2000s, collapsed in 2006 after its CEO was arrested during a layover in Texas (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline). But a cohort of offshore books – including Bodog/Bovada, BetOnline, Bookmaker/CRIS, 5Dimes, and a handful of others – decided to weather the storm, continuing to quietly serve Americans through the late 2000s and early 2010s. They operated in what one U.S. attorney called “a flouting” of the law, arguing that merely being located abroad doesn’t exempt bookmakers from U.S. gambling prohibitions (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times). The operators’ counterpoint was pragmatic: unless the U.S. could physically stop them or cut off every payment avenue, the bets would keep flowing. And for a long time, that’s exactly what happened.

2018: Legalization Arrives – But Offshore Books Endure

After decades of this cat-and-mouse game, a seismic shift occurred in May 2018. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA, the federal ban, in a landmark case (Murphy v. NCAA). In one swoop, the Court removed the federal prohibition and opened the door for each state to legalize and regulate sports betting if it chose (Chalk - A timeline of how we got to legalized sports betting - ESPN). It was the dawn of a new era: by late 2018, a handful of states (New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi and a few others) had quickly rolled out legal sportsbooks (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN), and more than two dozen states would legalize in the ensuing years. Major casino and tech companies launched their own betting apps, and media networks partnered with betting brands. All of a sudden, U.S. sports fans in many states had legal options to bet on games, often via well-known names like DraftKings, FanDuel, or MGM.

One might assume this would immediately spell doom for the offshore bookies that had long monopolized the market. Indeed, the landscape began to shift – but slowly, and not uniformly. In the early phase of legalization, only a few states had operational sportsbooks, and even in those, the legal products sometimes had limitations (for example, as of late 2018 only Nevada and New Jersey allowed statewide mobile betting; most states hadn’t yet enabled convenient online wagering everywhere) (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN). Offshore sites still had the advantage of ubiquity – they didn’t care if you were in California or Texas (states that remained without legal betting), you could log on from anywhere. In fact, the offshore industry saw the legalization wave as an opportunity: new publicity around sports betting could create more interest among Americans, and if a curious fan’s home state wasn’t offering legal bets yet, sites like BetOnline or Bovada were more than happy to fill the void (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN) (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN). “The government has basically said it is legal to gamble on sports now, and if your state isn’t equipped to take wagers yet, a respected and long-tenured sportsbook such as ours will be available anywhere you are,” a spokesperson for one offshore book boldly stated in 2018 (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN). Offshore executives openly predicted an influx of new customersthanks to PASPA’s repeal, reasoning that many newbies would start betting at legal venues then eventually seek better odds or convenience online offshore (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN).

They were not entirely wrong. In the immediate aftermath of PASPA’s fall, offshore sportsbooks reported little if any drop-off. Americans in dozens of states had no legal alternative, so they kept using their offshore accounts. Even in states like New Jersey that launched legal mobile sportsbooks, the offshores retained a presence. Years of brand recognition gave companies like Bovada a leg up in search engine results and customer loyalty. Tellingly, when Colorado opened its legal market in 2020, online search volume for “Bovada” in Colorado was significantly higher than for some legal sportsbook brands – implying bettors were still flocking to (or at least curious about) the well-known offshore option (Seven Takeaways From Legal US Sports Betting After PASPA Thus Far). The early phase of U.S. legalization saw a “parallel market” operating side-by-side: the new state-regulated books, and the long-standing offshore books (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN). Many casual bettors didn’t immediately know the difference – if they saw a website offering bets, they might not realize whether it was state-licensed or an offshore site with a “.ag” or “.lv” URL. This confusion, combined with habit, meant the offshores weren’t going anywhere overnight.

Offshore vs. Legal Sportsbooks: Coexistence and Competition

As of 2025, the U.S. sports betting landscape has transformed – yet the offshore sportsbooks have proven resilient. By now, the majority of U.S. states allow some form of legal sports wagering, and billions of dollars are bet annually through licensed domestic books. There are clear signs that many bettors have migrated to the safer, regulated options. A study by the American Gaming Association in 2023 found that 77% of online sports bets in the U.S. were placed with regulated operators, up from 44% in 2019 (Five Years Post-PASPA: Consumer Sports Betting Trends - American Gaming Association). This suggests that the legal market is steadily winning over customers. However, a sizable portion still stays offshore. In that same study, nearly one in five U.S. bettors admitted they still use offshore or illegal bookies, and tellingly, most of those people believed they were betting legally (Five Years Post-PASPA: Consumer Sports Betting Trends - American Gaming Association) (Five Years Post-PASPA: Consumer Sports Betting Trends - American Gaming Association) – highlighting how murky the line remains for consumers. Offshore sites have actively blurred that line by marketing themselves to Americans in quasi-legal ways (for instance, Bovada’s very name riffs off “Nevada” and it uses a .lv domain implying Las Vegas).

In competitive terms, offshore books continue to both compete and coexist with the new legal books. They compete by leveraging advantages born of lighter regulation: Offshores tend to have lower overhead and no taxes, which can translate into better odds or perks for bettors (Seven Takeaways From Legal US Sports Betting After PASPA Thus Far). They often offer a wider variety of wagers – things that regulated U.S. books can’t or won’t take due to legal constraints. During the pandemic sports shutdown, for example, one offshore book (BetOnline) famously took bets on a spontaneous “push-up contest” between sports personalities, an unconventional market no state-regulated book could offer (Seven Takeaways From Legal US Sports Betting After PASPA Thus Far). Offshores routinely take bets on entertainment awards, elections, or esports matches that might be off-limits under state laws. This flexibility keeps some bettors interested. Additionally, many offshore sites now accept cryptocurrencies for deposits and withdrawals, appealing to those who value privacy or the ability to move money without traditional banks.

On the other hand, the legal U.S. sportsbooks have strengths the offshores can’t match. They offer the security and recourse of regulation – bettors know there are consumer protections, and winnings are assured (offshore sites, while often reliable, have fewer guarantees if something goes wrong). The legal books also saturate media and advertising; in states like New York or Illinois, one can hardly watch a game or drive past a billboard without seeing DraftKings, FanDuel, or MGM promotions. Offshore books, by contrast, must rely on guerrilla marketing – online ads, affiliate websites, or word-of-mouth – since they can’t advertise on mainstream U.S. channels. Over time, this imbalance in visibility may tilt new bettors toward legal options by default.

Still, offshore sportsbooks refuse to “go quietly into the night.” As one industry observer noted, these outfits had to compete with Las Vegas and underground bookmakers long before legalization – competing with state-regulated apps is just a new chapter, and it’s spurring them to innovate (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN). In some cases, the markets even intersect: it’s not unheard of for a sharp bettor to have both legal sportsbook accounts and offshore accounts, shopping for the best lines or hedging bets between them. The offshore books also continue to serve a role in places the legal market can’t reach – notably, the states that still haven’t legalized sports betting (such as a large state like California as of 2025). For millions of Americans in those places, Bovada or BetOnline remain the only accessible options to bet on the Super Bowl or March Madness.

Regulators and the legal industry are not ignoring the offshore presence. There have been increasing calls to crack down on offshore operators. In 2022, over two dozen members of Congress sent a letter urging the Justice Department to take stronger action against illegal betting sites (Congress Requests DOJ Crackdown On Offshore Sportsbooks) (AGA Pushes Other States to Follow Michigan, Crack Down on Offshore Sportsbooks - Public Gaming Research Institute). Some states have even taken direct aim: In 2022, the state of Michigan’s gaming board issued a public cease-and-desist order to Bovada, trying to blunt its activity in a state that now had legal online betting (AGA Pushes Other States to Follow Michigan, Crack Down on Offshore Sportsbooks - Public Gaming Research Institute). The American Gaming Association hailed Michigan’s move and encouraged other states to follow suit (AGA Pushes Other States to Follow Michigan, Crack Down on Offshore Sportsbooks - Public Gaming Research Institute). Whether such efforts can truly eliminate offshore betting is debatable – after all, the sites are still just a click away and often change domains or payment methods to stay alive. But the message is clear: the legal industry wants to pull as many bettors as possible into the regulated fold. 

Conclusion: An Unfinished Chapter in Sports Betting History

The history of offshore sportsbooks like Bodog, BetOnline and Bovada is deeply intertwined with America’s complex relationship to gambling. These sites rose to prominence because demand met supply in a realm beyond the law’s easy reach. They became the de facto bookies for Americans at a time when placing a simple sports bet anywhere outside Nevada was itself outlawed. In doing so, they pioneered online betting technology, drove billions in handle, and forced the issue of gambling regulation into the spotlight. Post-2018, their dominance has been challenged by a newly legal industry at home – yet they remain an enduring part of the market. Their continued existence, even in the face of legalization, underscores a key lesson: when it comes to sports betting, old habits die hard. As long as even a single state or a certain type of wager is off-limits, there will be an offshore book ready to take it. American bettors today live in a world of choice between the brightly lit, state-sanctioned sportsbooks and the shadowy offshore veterans. The offshore sportsbooks’ story is still being written, but their legacy is already secured as central players in the decades-long journey that led the U.S. from prohibition to a booming sports betting landscape (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN) (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN).

Sources:

• Brett Smiley, ESPN.com: “What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks” (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN) (What legal sports betting in the United States means for offshore sportsbooks - ESPN) (2018).

• David Purdum, ESPN Chalk: Timeline of sports betting legalization (Chalk - A timeline of how we got to legalized sports betting - ESPN) (2018).

• Nate Raymond, Reuters: Reporting on World Sports Exchange and Jay Cohen case (Former fugitive sports gambling employee avoids U.S. prison term | Reuters) (Former fugitive sports gambling employee avoids U.S. prison term | Reuters) (2016).

• Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times: “Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted” (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times) (Online gambling: Sports gambling site Bodog seized; founder Calvin Ayre indicted - Los Angeles Times) (Feb 2012).

• Gambling-Giant.org (archival): “History of Bodog and Bovada” (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog) (The True Untold History of Bovada and Bodog) (updated 2025).

• Gambling-Giant.org (archival): “History of BetOnline” (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline) (BetOnline Ownership Discussed - History of BetOnline) (updated 2022).

• LegalSportsReport.com: “Seven Takeaways From Legal US Sports Betting After PASPA” (Seven Takeaways From Legal US Sports Betting After PASPA Thus Far) (Seven Takeaways From Legal US Sports Betting After PASPA Thus Far) (2020).

• American Gaming Association: “Five Years Post-PASPA: Consumer Sports Betting Trends” (Five Years Post-PASPA: Consumer Sports Betting Trends - American Gaming Association) (Five Years Post-PASPA: Consumer Sports Betting Trends - American Gaming Association) (May 2023).

• Public Gaming (Michigan C&D to Bovada): “AGA Pushes States to Crack Down on Offshore Sportsbooks” (AGA Pushes Other States to Follow Michigan, Crack Down on Offshore Sportsbooks - Public Gaming Research Institute) (AGA Pushes Other States to Follow Michigan, Crack Down on Offshore Sportsbooks - Public Gaming Research Institute) (June 2024).