Calvin Ayre Article Archive

Calvin Ayre has contributed 10 articles published on the iGaming News site.
Where Are All the Great Online Betting Brands? (19 January 2005)
For a variety of reasons, the Internet gambling industry has for the most part failed to establish solid brands in the North American markets. Calvin Ayre explains.
Rock-a-Bye Baby - Corporate Culture and Customer Service (13 October 2004)
I can seldom attend any industry function these days without being asked for my insight into the Bodog.com marketing machine. My standard answer is to take half your current advertising budget and spend that money on improving your customer service. I am convinced that serving your customers properly is, in fact, the only true driver of any business success.
The Boogeyman! Why Online Gaming Helps Land-Based Gaming (10 September 2004)
No matter how successful online gaming becomes, Las Vegas will always be the center of the gaming world. Why is it that online gaming does not threaten land-based gaming?
The Bombay Manifesto (28 April 2004)
As mentioned in previous articles I have written, I started what became the BoDog.com group of companies in the early 1990s. At this time the world was just feeling its way through the thorny issue of what a Web site really is. Hyperlinks were a fringe concept restricted to a few abstract thinkers and sci-fi writers. I, however, was convinced that the Internet and more specifically the Web in the case of this article would be significant forces in a global societal change that was already under way.
Life of a Sports Book CEO on the Road (26 March 2004)
A travelogue from BoDog CEO Cole Turner.
Water Water Everywhere and Nary a Drop to Drink - Liquidity Ratio Analysis For Sportsbooks (3 March 2004)
it seems that a large percentage of our industry's analysts still have no idea how a business is analyzed. I seldom, if ever, even get asked about ratio analysis, but instead get questions like how much money we have or why do we advertise so much. I have never even been asked how much, if any, debt we have, which is a necessary bit of information to make the first question have any meaning, and the second one is like asking someone why they breathe. Interestingly enough, I also have never been asked how profitable we are, which at the end of the day, drives everything else that shows up on our statements.
Of Good Companies and Bad Countries (Or Is That the other Way Around?) (8 January 2004)
I am astonished every time I read in a forum or on a watchdog site when some in our industry suggest that somehow the country a company operates in is the primary determinant on corporate performance and strength. This is not true for the industry in general and is even less true for online sports betting. I do agree that this is a factor that can be considered, but it is certainly not the starting point and should never be used in isolation.
The Power of the Business Mode (3 December 2003)
One of the questions we get asked most often by industry pundits is, "How can you afford to give out such aggressive bonuses and still stay in business?" Some have even suggested that when combined with what they consider to be an aggressive marketing campaign these bonuses would cause us to be over-leveraged. To give these persons their due, with some of our competitors this would in fact be a possible scenario, but we are extremely profitable and are in fact considered fiscally conservative for our industry by anyone that really takes the time to investigate our business. What is readily apparent to those who do their homework is what I call "the power of the business model."
Market Forces vs. Regulation in Online Sports Betting - What The Industry Really Thinks! (21 November 2003)
Since the earliest days of our industry, there has been a loud and sustained debate on the relative gains for all parties on Market Forces vs. Regulation. The arguments have run the gambit from the patently ridiculous to incredibly poignant.
Branding in the Online Sports Betting World (3 November 2003)
The process of creating a great brand starts right at the earliest days of the organization. You can create a great brand out of a bad name, but it just seems to be that much easier if you put some thinking into your name.