Bodog regains control of Bodog.com

Online casino Bodog has reacquired the bodog.com domain name after settling a patent infringement lawsuit with 1st Technology LLC this week. The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG), which operates the Bodog brand in North America, negotiated deal with 1st Technology.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be able to return the Bodog experience to its rightful home - the reaction of staff and key suppliers has been thunderous," said Alwyn Morris, CEO of the MMGG in a statement in announcing the deal.

The settlement also ends the long-running patent dispute between 1st Technology and Bodog and covers the use of core multimedia patents for advanced gaming products.

In the original lawsuit, 1st Technology alleged the online gaming company was illegally using a "method and system for interactively transmitting multimedia information over a network which requires a reduced bandwidth," according to court documents.

Bodog lost most of its Bodog.com domain names in August of 2007 after failing to appear in court to defend itself or challenge the $48 million judgment ordered by Judge Roger L. Hunt.

Bodog has been operating under the bodoglife.com domain since September of that year.

The return of the bodog.com domain promises to have a significant impact on Bodog's worldwide business, Morris added in his statement.

"We will be transitioning the MMGG site to this domain over the coming weeks," Morris explained in his statement. "Moreover, we have only just this morning inked a deal with Bodog Antigua, from whom we license the Bodog brand. Under this contract, outside of our brand license territory, the www.bodog.com domain will be redirected to the other brand licensees' sites, as appropriate. One domain, worldwide."

Keith McDonnell, managing director of Bodog Europe, was also pleased with the settlement.

"As the 'Bodog' brand licensee for Europe, we are ecstatic to see the return of www.bodog.com," he said. "Working with the MMGG and the other licensees, geo-targeting will be used to ensure visitors outside of the MMGG's territory are directed to the correct site, including ours (www.bodoglife.co.uk). This way, the marketing efforts of every licensee to promote www.bodog.com benefit us all, ultimately reinforcing and strengthening the global brand. It will absolutely be a win-win-win solution."