Bovada Sportsbook Review – Bovada Is Legal For US Players

Is Bovada Sportsbook Legal In The USA?

Bovada sportsbook is legally run and operated out of Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada, giving it the ability to offer legal sports betting to bettors in the United States. They are currently owned by the Mohawk Morris Gaming Group, one of the industry leaders in providing safe, convenient, and reliable online gaming. Bovada sportsbook is regulated by a local gaming commission and is certified to offer online gambling opportunities to players, but in 2016, they voluntarily gave up their license due to a disagreement with the policies of their local gaming commission.

The fact that the gaming site does not have a license does not affect its ability to offer safe, legal gaming. This is because they voluntarily gave up the license, rather than it being taken away. The site still performs to its previously licensed standards and will continue to do so. Bovada has garnered a reputation as one of the best online sports betting sites in the world, and won’t be giving that up anytime soon. This sportsbook remains a viable platform for legal sports betting, and is a reputable option for anyone interested in getting in on the action.

Is It Legal For Bovada To Operate In The USA?

Bovada can legally accept US players, though it is not a USA operator. It all comes back to licensing, and Bovada does not hold a US sports wagering certificate. This is the case for all offshore online sportsbooks, the reason being previous and current sports betting laws. The main reason why parent-company Bodog created the Bovada brand was due to three federal laws: the now-repealed Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), the UIGEA, and the Wire Act.

PASPA used to make sure that no states were allowed to expand or legalize sports betting laws. The good news about this is that PASPA has been completely overturned and now the states are allowed to legalize sports betting regulations as they see fit.  Then the UIGEA makes it so that U.S. financial institutions must screen payments from unregulated online gambling sites. There is also the Wire Act which makes it unlawful to transmit interstate sports wagering information via the internet, creating a gray area for even for online sportsbooks that are state-licensed.

The good news is that Bovada could now technically operate in the USA if it obtained a license from a state that has legalized sports betting. Being that the operator has been successful with providing safe betting opportunities for American sports bettors without technically operating in the US, it is unlikely the company will do so.

Which States Are Accepted At Bovada Sportsbook?

The legal review of Bovada in most states passes the bar. There are only four states that Bovada does not offer services in. These four states have complicated laws that prevent Bovada from accepting their bettors. Those states are Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, and New Jersey.

Bovada pulled its services from Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada because of laws that were passed in each state regulating online gambling. The laws were written in such a way that only state-licensed online gambling operations became legal. Because Bovada is based in Canada, it could not break into these markets without violating state law, and these states could not regulate Bovada without violating federal law, so the sportsbook pulled itself out. In Maryland, it was more of a complication to operate there than it was beneficial. 

Seasoned bettors may also remember when Bovada stopped accepting New York players, but this is no longer the case. Though the operator has given no official statement as to why it has returned to the market, Bovada is now accepting bets from residents from New York. It could be because NY has become more favorable toward sports betting with their legal progress in the state. There is also no telling what goes on behind the legislative closed doors, so, for now, NY residents can just enjoy sports betting at Bovada.

How To Sign Up At Bovada Sportsbook?

The sign-up process at Bovada is simple. All you need is some basic information and a few minutes of time. To create an account, you’ll need to put in your first and last name, date of birth, and your mother’s maiden name, which will serve as the answer to your security question should you forget your sign in information. They’ll also need your phone number, email address, and zip code, in order to verify your location. From there, all you have to do is verify the email that will be sent to you, and your account will be open and operational, so that you can begin your legal sports betting at Bovada.

Bovada Sign Up Bonuses For Sports Betting

When you sign up for Bovada, there are a couple of different bonuses available to you, depending on the deposit method you choose. If you decide to use your credit or debit card to make your first deposit at this site, then it will be matched by 50%, up to $250. If you decide you want to use Bitcoin, you will receive a 50% matching bonus for up to $500. You can use the Bitcoin Bonus after your Welcome Bonus to maximize your profits. 

Bovada Sign Up Welcome Bonus: 50% match up to $250 (log into account and select welcome bonus under available bonuses when making deposit)

Bitcoin Welcome Bonus: 50% match up to $500 with promo code BVSBITCOIN50

Bovada Deposit Methods

If you are wanting to place your bets in Bovada, you should be aware of the deposit methods you can use. You can use a card or Bitcoin to fund your online account. The three major credit cards accepted by Bovada are Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Visa and MasterCard also provide the accepted debit cards for Bovada. Be aware that there might be some fees when you deposit using a card. Credit card deposits are fast and simple but might get flagged by your card issuer, meaning you will have to try again at a later time. If that happens, you can contact the book to find an alternative, like a prepaid card.

If you want to avoid that situation entirely, you could also use Bovada’s other deposit method, Bitcoin. There are no fees associated with making deposits via Bitcoin. You will need to have a Bitcoin wallet in order to fund your account this way, but those are easy to create and fund. Once you have a wallet, use the BTC address to make transactions to your account with Bovada. The book will take care of the conversion and will fund your account immediately so that you can begin playing.

Credit Card Limits: Min. Deposit: $20 Max Deposit: $1,000 Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, MasterCard, American Express

Bitcoin Deposit Limits At Bovada: Min. Deposit: $20 Max Deposit: $5,000

Bovada Payout Methods

Bovada offers three payout methods for its customers, both guaranteed to reach you quickly. In over five years of service, Bovada has never missed a single payout, and customers have always been content with the speed at which they arrive. At Bovada, you can either request a check in the mail or withdraw via Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Withdrawals can take up to 48 hours to process, depending on when you request them. With bitcoin, withdrawals are credited to your account 15 minutes after they finish processing. Checks will take approximately 10-15 business days to reach you but usually arrive much faster than that.

Bovada will provide a credit that covers one free withdrawal every calendar month. After that, they will charge $50 for every payout requested. It is important to remember that Bitcoin will be converted using the rates at the time of the request, so if bitcoin’s value dropped while you still had funds on a sportsbook, you might want to hold off on withdrawing until the value goes back up.

Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Payout Limits At Bovada: $10 minimum withdrawal, $9,500 max withdrawal

Check by Courier Limits: $100 minimum withdrawal, $3,000 max withdrawal

Using Bitcoin At Bovada

Bitcoin is one of the best ways to bet on sports online, and using bitcoin at Bovada is very easy. All you need is a Bitcoin wallet. This is where you store your BTC, and also what enables you to conduct transactions. If you have not created a Bitcoin wallet yet, we suggest using a hardware wallet. This is the most secure way to store and transact your currency, operating through a separate piece of machinery that is not susceptible to malware or spyware. It has a remote control that makes conducting transactions incredibly easy.

Once you’ve created your Bitcoin wallet, you will be given a public address to use for transactions. When you have that address, you can use it to make a deposit at Bovada, as well as to receive your payout from the book. This is the only banking method at this site that offers both deposit and withdrawal capabilities. Using Bitcoin at Bovada is an extremely safe way to fund and withdraw from your account because it operates independently of any financial institution, so it will never be flagged by the UIGEA. So long as you protect your bitcoin wallet, this is perhaps the best way to fund your online sports betting account.

Mobile Sports Betting At Bovada

Mobile Sports Betting at Bovada is accessible no matter what operating system your device runs on. This is because Bovada has a browser-based mobile site, rather than an app. You don’t have to download anything, and you have full access to everything you’d have on your computer. Mobile sports betting can be done from a smartphone or tablet, so long as you have a reliable internet connection.

Bovada Betting Limits

Bovada’s betting limits vary based on sport and wager type, but they’re relatively average for the online sports betting world. The largest wager limits are given to the more popular sports, like NFL and NCAA games. The full list can be found in their help section, but we’ll go over some of the basic Bovada betting limits.

When you want to wager on the NFL, moneylines and totals will be limited to $2,500 per bet, while spreads max out at $5,000 per bet. NBA spreads max out at $2,000, while moneylines and totals can be made for a maximum of $1,000 each. Moneylines and totals for NCAA basketball is $500. NCAA football game totals and moneylines can be bet on at a max of $1,000. The wager limit at Bovada on spreads for College Football games is $2,500. NHL bets go up to $1,000 for moneylines while MLB moneylines run up to $2,000. NHL totals go up to $500 while MLB heads up to $1000. MLB Spreads tap out at $1000 as well.

Bovada’s betting limits for things like parlays and props will vary based on the different games and events that they are made for. Specialty events like the Puppy Bowl or the World Championship of Darts won’t go higher than a few hundred dollars, more than likely. If you are an established bettor with Bovada, bookmakers will work with you to raise the betting limits for whatever you’d like.

Bovada Payout Times

Bovada’s payout times vary based on how you choose to withdraw. With Bitcoin, the max amount of time it will take you to receive your payout is 48 hours and 15 minutes. This is because Bovada can take up to 48 hours to process a withdrawal. Funds are credited to your BTC wallet within 15 minutes of being processed, though, so it does not take very long.

If you request a check by courier payout, you will be waiting a little longer. This method will also take up to 48 hours to be processed, and from there, can take up to 10-15 business days to reach you. This might seem like a long time, but Bovada actually has the speediest payouts of any online sportsbook. The mail depends on the courier service and processing times at those courier services. Generally, though, it does not take the max amount of time listed to reach you, for either payout method.

Bovada Customer Service + Support

One of the main factors that goes into our Bovada review is customer service. And the customer service at Bovada can best be described as efficiently awesome. They handle any problems or issues that you bring to them relatively quickly and will speak with you directly rather than have you jump through a bunch of different automated response systems. You can reach Bovada’s customer service through a toll-free number at 1-888-263-0000 or by email, directly through their contact us page. Both options are available 24/7.

Sports Available To Bet On At Bovada

Bovada covers one of the largest selections of sporting events in the entire world. This online sportsbook has lines on all four of the major American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), as well as NCAA events and other popular events happening around the globe. Below is a list of the sports available to bet on at Bovada.

Basketball – Hockey – Soccer – Tennis – UFC/MMA – Golf – Baseball – Football – Cricket – Boxing – Politics – Horse Racing Futures and Props – Motor Sports – E-Sports – Rugby League –  Rugby Union  – Snooker – Darts – Cycling – Volleyball – Aussie Rules Handball – Entertainment – Futsal – Table Tennis – Winter Sports – Olympics

Live Betting At Bovada Sportsbook

Live betting is a way of wagering on a game while it is in progress. Live betting is offered on select games, but Bovada provides a list on its home page under the LIVE BETTING tab. There’s a calendar there as well so that you can see what upcoming games will be eligible for in-game wagering. Live betting odds are updated constantly so that you can bet on almost every play of the game. Bovada allows you to enjoy this form of wagering on both your computer and mobile device.

Bovada Horse Betting

The Racebook at Bovada is one of the best online. You’ll have access to races all over America, from the Kentucky Derby to the Breeder’s Cup, and everything in between. Bovada’s racebook gives you the lines well in advance so that you’re always getting the latest and greatest in horse racing betting. This racebook offers more exotic wagers than most land-based tracks, and with its wider scope of bettors, the pot is always worth it. It’ll be like you’re right there at the track, whether you’re using your computer or mobile device to bet on it because this book even gives you access to live streams of the biggest events.

Betting On Esports At Bovada

At Bovada, they cover a wide range of activities for you to bet on, including eSports. eSports have become extremely popular over the years, with more and more cash-prize tournaments cropping up all over the globe. With the sudden spike in popularity, oddsmakers have taken notice, especially at Bovada, which is why you can now wager on your favorite team or player to win different eSports. The biggest games, Counter-Strike, Dota, and League of Legends, are what you’ll find the most eSports betting odds on, but Bovada is always adding new lines, so keep your eyes open for more eSports throughout the year.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – Dota 2 – League of Legends

Bovada Casino – Play From Your Bovada Sportsbook Account

When it comes to playing at an online casino, you’ll be looking for all of the usual standbys, like blackjack, roulette, and craps. Bovada casino has that in spades, in addition to tons of other games. With over 100 different slot games, and tons of dice, card, and table games to choose from, this online casino is the best place to get your gambling on.

One of the great thing about Bovada is that it has a casino, as well as a sportsbook. So when you’re ready to start betting the cards, you can just click over to the casino and start. Having an account with Bovada’s sportsbook allows you to have an account with all of their other gambling ventures as well. For those of you who are already members of the casino, it works the other way around as well, so you can begin betting on sports whenever you’d like at Bovada.

Bovada Poker Room – Best Legal Poker In The USA

Bovada recently moved its poker room to Ignition casino. This site is fully equipped with all of the classic poker games you love, with tons of bonuses and tournaments just waiting for you. Ignition poker allows players choose their limit so that everyone is comfortable playing their favorite games. They also allow you to choose between a digital dealer and a live one, who is dealing via live stream. You’ll have to create an account with Ignition in order to play poker there, but when you do, you’ll be eligible for up to $2,000 in welcome bonuses.