US enforcement officials seize Bodog’s defunct .com website

The old adage ‘closing the stable door after the horse has bolted’ springs to mind following news from the United States that Department of Homeland Security officials have seized the now dead .com Bodog domain.

Not only is the involvement of an anti-terrorist outfit – as always – surprising, but Bodog long ago departed that stable for a more enlightened and less risky .eu home. The practical impact on Bodog franchises around the world is therefore unlikely to be noticeable.

The seizure was kept from the public by a sealed warrant, but inevitably leaked from communications with domain registrars.

Bodog’s standpoint appears to be that it shut down the domain some time ago; that it now licenses its brand to operators internationally and in agreements outside the USA, and that the seizure has little effect on its operations.

Certainly the seizure illustrates yet again (remember the  First Technology and Kentucky jurisdiction fiascos?) that .com domains are risky and vulnerable to the inexplicable whims of US enforcement.

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