Calvin Ayre
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Calvin Ayre (born May 25, 1961 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada) is the founder of the Bodog online gaming and entertainment brand, which he developed and launched in 1994.
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.,[1] leading to being featured in People Magazine’s “Hottest Bachelor” list a few months later,[2] and Star Magazine’s "Most Eligible Billionaire Bachelors” list in late 2007.[3]
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.
Immediately after university, Ayre was hired to manage Bicer Medical Systems Ltd., a heart valve manufacturer that had been listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. In 1996, Ayre entered into a voluntary settlement agreement[4] with the BC Securities Commission for failing to file necessary reports and authorizing the issuance of shares prior to filing a prospectus.
In 1994, Ayre sold everything he owned and with $10,000 to his name he assembled his team and launched the original Bodog.
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.
In a 2009 interview[5] 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. After undertaking what Ayre describes as “transitional media relations” following the brand license arrangement, Ayre announced his retirement in April 2008,[6] indicating that he intended to devote his time to The Calvin Ayre Foundation.
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.[7]
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.”
On May 9th 2011 it was announced by Scottish football club Ayr United that they had agreed a major sponsorship deal with Calvin Ayre's Bodog brand. [8]
Personal Life – Calvin Ayre Foundation
Founded in 2005, the Calvin Ayre Foundation, headquartered in Antigua, 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 to combat the practice of farming Asian bears for their bile for the Traditional Chinese Medicine market.[9]
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.
Ayre's homes in San José, Costa Rica were featured on a 2008 episode of MTV Cribs. It was also the subject of a raid by Costa Rican authorities in March 2006 in what was described as a "raucous poker party" by Reuters. Ayre also owns a house in Antigua, the base of Bodog Entertainment.
Notes
- ^ Forbes.com: Catch Me If You Can
- ^ Prnewswire: People Magazine Spotlights Bodog.com CEO Calvin Ayre in 'Hottest Bachelors' Issue
- ^ Star Magazine: Most Eligible Billionaire Bachelors Poll
- ^ BCSC Settlement Agreement (Without Hearing)
- ^ Poinr-Spreads.com: Bodog.com Founder Calvin Ayre's 1st Post Retirement Interview
- ^ Bodoglife.com: Calvin Ayre - The Biography of a Billionaire
- ^ Playboy Magazine - "Welcome to the No Fun League - The NFL vs. Gambling
- ^ Ayr United FC - Bodog Brand in Ayr United Shirt Deal
- ^ Calvin Ayre Foundation, Animal Protection Society Partner to Fight Asian Bear Farming