It's been more than two years since a federal grand jury in Maryland indicted the online sports-betting giant Bodog Entertainment Group and four Canadians, including Bodog founder Calvin Ayre, for illegal gambling and money laundering. Today, the status of the case was made clear, with the docketing of a letter sent by assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Kay to the judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake: Kay and the defendants "intend to continue to try to find a resolution that will not require extradition of the defendants," Kay wrote, but "in the meantime, I am pursuing extradition."

The letter adds that Bodog "was created under Costa Rican law" and that the Canadians are "believed to be living in Canada and in Antigua," observing that the extradition process "can take a number of years," during which time Kay suggests the case be "closed administratively until there is a need for further proceedings."

Bodog, Ayre, accountant James Philip, controller and e-commerce chief David Ferguson, and media buyer Derrick Maloney are accused of running an illegal online sports-betting business from 2005 to 2012, and of moving at least $100 million used to pay winners and advertisers in the U.S. from Bodog's accounts in Switzerland, England, Malta, Canada, and elsewhere. Some of the evidence used to indict them came from an ex-Bodog employee, who described the multi-national operation and identified its top executives. The individuals, if convicted, face maximum five-year sentences for the gambling counts, and 20 years for money laundering, while Bodog faces a maximum $1 million fine.

Ayre has maintained that "it is clear that the online gaming industry is legal under international law" and has called the indictment an "abuse of the U.S. criminal justice system." The Bodog.com domain was seized under a federal warrant issued when the indictment was handed down, and its operations were then transferred to other Bodog-related domains.

The Bodog indictment was the latest installment of a lengthy online-gambling probe by federal authorities in Maryland, sometimes conducted in tandem with their colleagues in New York, where the gambling sites Pokers Stars and Full Tilt Poker have been prosecuted.