Calvin Ayre

Using him as a model, Ayre sought to build Bodog into not only one of the largest online gambling brands but also a "mainstream 21st-century digital entertainment conglomerate".

As Bodog grew, Ayre launched several non-gaming properties under the Bodog brand.

Calvin Edward Ayre (born May 25, 1961) is a Canadian-Antiguan entrepreneur based in Antigua and Barbuda.

He is the founder of the Ayre Group and Bodog entertainment brand.

In 1984, he received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in general sciences from the University of Waterloo, adding an MBA in management finance from City University of Seattle in 1989.

In 1992, after reading a newspaper article about a Caribbean-based company offering betting services over the telephone, Ayre concluded that gambling was tailor-made for the internet.

Having taught himself network design by studying Cisco Systems manuals, Ayre converted his Vancouver-based Internet incubator company into a software support firm for online gambling, which became Bodog.

He was able to license his software to several online casinos but soon realized the real money was in running his own gaming operation.

His gambling business was setup in 1996 and was based in Costa Rica.

In 2000, Ayre launched online gambling company Bodog, the success of which made him a billionaire.

Ayre's notoriety increased in the mid-2000s as online gaming's popularity surged, landing him on the cover of Forbes magazine's 2006 annual Billionaires edition and Star magazine's "Most Eligible Billionaire Bachelors" list in late 2007.

Bodog.com was established in 2000.

Canadian Business reported "the Bodog name is part of an ambitious branding strategy that Ayre envisioned from the start. He came up with it while typing potential brand names into an Internet domain-registration search engine one night. He chose the appellation like a major corporation would pick the name of a new car or brand of soft drink: it had to have six letters or less, be easy to spell and remember, have some personality and be unlike any competitor's moniker. The last criterion was easy to fill since most of Bodog's rivals prefer straightforward brand names such as PartyPoker.com or Sportsbook.com."

As the face of the Bodog brand, Ayre's public profile increased in the mid-2000s as online gaming's popularity surged.

In 2003, Ayre organized BodogConference.com in Las Vegas for sports handicappers, at which National Football League Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana was a special guest.

The conference became an annual event, attracting gambling industry executives and figures from the sports world.

In 2005, Ayre launched the Bodog Music record label.

This led to the Bodog Music Battle of the Bands television series on Fuse TV, in which celebrity judges including former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon traveled across America to find the country's best unsigned bands.

Ayre also launched Calvin Ayre WildCard Poker, a televised poker series on Fox Sports Net featuring pro and celebrity players facing off against online qualifiers.

He was featured as the cover story for Forbes 2006 annual Billionaires edition.

In 2006, Ayre was named one of People magazine's 40 hottest bachelors and appeared on the cover of the Forbes Billionaires issue.

In a 2006 feature, The Register called Ayre "something of an outlaw."

Ayre expressed his admiration for Virgin Group founder Richard Branson’s use of his personal brand to promote his companies.

and Star magazine's "Most Eligible Billionaire Bachelors" list in late 2007.

Ayre chose to make himself the focus of Bodog's marketing strategy, creating a public profile designed to showcase the trappings of a jackpot-winning lifestyle.

He hosted lavish parties in Costa Rica and Antigua, with bikini-clad "Bodog Girls" and armed bodyguards in attendance, and the media noted his reputation as a man who likes to party.

The Bodog website and press materials are filled with photographs of Ayre drinking on yachts with scantily clad models, partying with celebrities and living what he called "the Bodog lifestyle."

Ayre claims that the ‘bad boy adventurer’ image projected in Bodog marketing only worked because it was based on something genuine.

"The lifestyle I sell is about 80% the reality of what I live."

The business expanded rapidly, recording turnover of US$7300000000 and revenue of US$210000000 in 2005.

As Bodog grew in prominence, Ayre appeared on episodes of MTV Cribs, VH1's Fabulous Life of…, Extra, and ABC Nightline.

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, which then operated its own online gaming website servicing the US under the Bodog brand until December, 2011.

On 14 December 2011 MMGG announced that it would no longer operate Bodog-branded websites and transitioned all customers to its new site.

The news media has also reported on Bodog's alleged skirting of Internet gambling laws in the United States and other countries.

Forbes reported his "taunting analysis of the law: we run a business that can't actually be described as gambling in each country we operate in. But when you add it all together, it's Internet gambling."

In 2012, Ayre was indicted by the US Attorney for Maryland on charges of illegal gambling and money laundering.

Despite the Antiguan government's view that the charges against Ayre were “completely contrary to binding international agreements,” in 2017, he pled guilty to a single misdemeanor charge and all other charges against him were dropped.

In August 2017, Ayre was appointed as an Economic Envoy for Antigua and Barbuda to advise on developments in blockchain technology.

Ayre grew up on a farm outside Lloydminster, Saskatchewan and graduated from high school in Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

His parents were grain and pig farmers.