Leading worldwide gambling empire Bodog has announced its newest online casino platform: Bodog.io. This Asia-focused brand is licensed by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission as explained in a press release from Bodog dated Thursday, March 23, 2023.
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Bodog.io Overview
Bodog.io is a casino-only operation; there’s no poker room, sportsbook, or racebook. What’s more, this organization eschews the use of fiat currencies – it conducts all banking and gameplay in crypto-currency. The only crypto coin currently referenced on the site is the granddaddy of all crypto-currencies: Bitcoin. User balances are evidently denominated in mBTC, or thousandths of a bitcoin.
Despite the fact that this is a crypto-only website, users still may be required to complete ID verification. This is made clear by the following sentence from section 3.5. of the Terms of Service: “We reserve the right to use third-party verification services to authenticate your Account information and identity, and you expressly acknowledge and agree that we may confirm the accuracy of any information you submit against your government-issued ID.”
Bodog.io is owned by Star Jar (IOM) Ltd. Information on this Isle of Man-headquartered corporation is a bit hard to come by. It seems to be just a holding company without any other presence on the web besides Bodog.io. Most of the other gaming enterprises within the Bodog umbrella are similarly owned by enigmatic companies that don’t really disclose much info about themselves.
An Incomplete Casino Site
There are indications that Bodog.io was rushed out the door before being completely finished. For example, the website claims that you can “Get a 100% Casino Bonus,” but there’s no explanation of how this bonus works or indeed the maximum amount of the bonus offer.
Similarly, there are references to table games and video poker on the website but no titles are listed in these categories. There isn’t even a promotions page, which is found at almost every other internet casino.
Screenshot of the Bodog.io WebsiteGames Library
Despite Bodog.io’s assurance that “We offer over hundreds of slot machines, the best table games, and a new gaming experience every week,” the only type of games currently shown are slots, and there are much fewer than even one hundred of them. To be more specific, only 27 slot titles are currently displayed in the lobby.
There doesn’t appear to be a Bodog.io casino download. Rather, the games are all in responsive HTML5 format, ensuring cross-compatibility with a wide range of devices, including mobile phones.
The majority of the titles presently visible in the lobby come from PG Soft, or Pocket Games Soft, a development house with the cryptic if tautological-sounding slogan “The difference is the difference.” Other games were created by Wazdan and Habanero Systems.
Clicking on a game brings up a short summary of the gameplay, which you can expand to read more about it. You also have the option to engage in practice play even if you have not yet created an account.
Tuk Tuk Thailand by Habanero Systems, One of the Slots at Bodog.ioService Area
Casino management has been pretty mum about what parts of the world they transact with. In the help center, we’re given the vague statement that “Bodog.io accepts players from a number of countries within the Asian-Pacific regions.”
By playing around with the account creation window, we were able to see which countries returned a warning message of “Sorry, the site is currently not available in your country.” By implication, the countries that did not give such a message are those from which Bodog.io accepts customers. They are:
- Algeria
- Cambodia
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Korea
- Ukraine
This list contains the large and relatively prosperous markets of Japan and Korea along with up-and-coming powerhouses India and Indonesia. Indeed, there’s a lot of overlap with the area previously served by Bodog88 and Bodog Indianow-shuttered offshoots of Bodog that formerly catered to Asian customers. Alas, Australia and China are missing from the list likely due to legal concerns.
Cambodia is another nation in the Southeast Asian area that Bodog.io appears to be targeting. Algeria is the oddball here; we think this is probably just an error in the account creation interface.
Rounding out the list of countries with which the casino does business are the embattled Ukraine and….yes, almighty Kazakhstan!
“Great Success!”Isle of Man Licensure
One of the legitimate strengths of the new Bodog.io brand is that it’s licensed by the Isle of Man. There are perhaps a dozen commonly found licensing seals in the online gambling industry, and they vary widely in reputation from those that are viewed as little more than rubber stamps and those that carry the weight of powerful and trustworthy agencies behind them. The Isle of Man is one of the more respected of these jurisdictions.
Other sites in the Bodog group have obtained licensure from various jurisdictions. However, none of them are as well-regarded as the Isle of Man license obtained by Bodog.io. This license was issued by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission in accordance with the Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001.
In order to remain in good standing with the Gambling Supervision Commission, a licensee must comply with certain regulations and follow specific guidelines. Among the obligations undertaken by license holders are:
- Must establish a corporate presence in the Isle of Man with at least two local directors
- Has to register players on servers located on the Isle of Man
- Pay £35,000 per year as well as an application fee of £5,000
- Pay a duty of between 0.1% and 1.5% of gross gaming yield depending on the total yield per year
- Adhere to all relevant advertising standards
- Follow anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws
- Keep player funds in segregated accounts
Failing to live up to these – and other – responsibilities subjects the company to possible suspension or cancellation of the license as well as the refusal to renew a license when it expires. Furthermore, certain failures may cause individuals employed by the firm to be personally liable.
All of these factors combine to make the Isle of Man a renowned gambling regulator and one that’s considered anything but toothless. Prospective customers can certainly breathe easier knowing that such a trusted body has seen fit to license Bodog.io.
Bodog and Related Companies Provide Excellent Gaming
Bodog.io only serves those in a few select markets mostly in Asia. However, if you reside in another part of the world, you may have access to other sister sites that provide an even better gaming experience because they’ve been around for longer and have more well-established libraries of games.
American casino enthusiasts can choose from Slots.lv or Cafe Casinoand actually, Slots.lv accepts Canadians too. However, these are casino-only sites, so Americans who wish to play poker are better served joining up at Ignitionwhich has a casino and poker room. Bovada goes one step further, giving residents of the United States a one-stop shop for casino, poker, and sports betting action.
Canadians in search of all-in-one gambling can sign up with Bodogwhich also serves certain Latin American countries. Aussies have the choice between Joe Fortune for casino gaming or Ignition for a combo casino plus poker room.