Bodog Spends More than $5.5 Million for Slots.com Domain Name
While drinking beer at a bar in London, Calvin Ayre, joined an online auction and bought a new domain name for the Bodog brand worth more than $5.5 million. The founder of BodogBrand.com didn’t have much trouble sealing a multi-million dollar deal from the SnapNames.com auction even when bidding from halfway across the globe, sitting on a bar stool at L’Atelier restaurant in London.
Ayre is excited about the purchase of such a powerful gaming domain. Sold at more than $5.5 million or approximately $5.85 million, according to some reports, Slots.com is considered to be “one of the biggest gaming domain names in the world.” Surely, the Bodog licensor and owner didn’t just spend a huge amount for nothing, as the recently concluded deal hit record highs as one of the largest amount of money spent for a domain in 2010.
On buying Slots.com
Although the purchase was secured while having a few pints of beer, the move was made with clear purpose and vision for Bodog.com, a venture capital and licensing firm based in Antigua. Ayre believes that Slots.com is the next best thing to Casino.com when it comes to generic domain names for gaming. He believes that it is even better than Poker.com, considering that many casinos today provide a lot of space for slots aside from poker. The newly purchased domain name also has instant recall since it is easy to spell and remember.
The purchase of Slots.com can help the online entertainment and gambling brand, Bodog, generate more traffic to its branded properties such as Bodog.com, Bodog.co.uk, Bodog.ca, and Bodog88.com. Such a very costly deal can be worth the money as it attracts more players online to Bodog’s casinos and poker rooms. Aside from this, Ayre also said that the domain name will also help them create targeted websites. He revealed that there’s a plan for a website that will target female gamblers and will also be made by one. Ambassador for BodogBrand.com Rebecca Liggero said that the generic domain name is simple enough to be popular among casino players online. She identified female players as the likely target.
On the other hand, some people also warned that having a popular domain name doesn’t guarantee instant success. For instance, Sex.com was reported to be on auction following bankruptcy issues, while Poker.com also didn’t succeed in having such a large following as expected.
Despite doubts on the success of this new venture, the Bodog brand is quick to acknowledge the limitless potential here, considering the growth of female players online and the online gaming experience of Bodog, which offers online casino games, Internet poker, and sports betting to players worldwide.