"Twelve years ago, I correctly identified that the Internet was going to be a legitimate social force of the future. So I said, ‘Let's do an Internet project.' I read about guys setting up phone rooms in the Dominican Republic to take sports bets from Americans. [I thought], This is a great business for the Internet. Not only can you take bets better through the Internet than by phone, but to run this business you had to [be] in the tropics. The initial seed money I put in the company was $10,000.

"Anyone can get in the game, but nowadays it would be tough to compete with giants like Bodog with only $10,000. That said, for every business on the Internet that's successful, there's one that hasn't been invented yet and the second you think everything that can be invented has been invented, you've basically given up.

"I trademarked Bodog and my own name, Calvin Ayre. Bodog is the primary brand, and I made my name a sub-brand because
I'm using myself as a spokesman for the organization. I think it's important, especially on the Internet, for people to get a sense that there is actually somebody behind that website and that they are actually dealing with a person.

"From a pure business perspective, Costa Rica's a very good jurisdiction. Tax-wise there are advantages. The cost space for employees is lower than some places. Alcohol is cheap, too. Nice weather, hot chicks, and cheap booze-what else can you ask for?

"When I started, 100 percent of the people that I asked told me that it was a bad idea. But I did it anyway."Home // STYLE // HOW TO // Starting an Internet Gambling Empire