Bovada

Bovada.lv sportsbook usa

Previously, it ran as Bodog, which is still its sister brand, but focuses solely on Canada. Bovada has its majority clients in the US.

Being offshore, Bovada's licensing status is of questionable nature. I believe they have two, at the moment, one each from Anjouan and Curacao. This is meaningless, considering these places are tier-2, at best. Thing is Bovada didn't even need these. Their name is their bond. But, these things still need to be done, to bring about some semblance of authencity.

Bovada is totally illegal in the United States. But, since they're offshore, their legal status doesn't do much, or make a dent on their ability to tempt American bettors to sign up, like bees to honey.

How cool would it be, if they actually applied to become legal in the States. It might just happen. I don't know, if or when.

There's so much material already available on the internet, on Bovada, there's literally, nothing new or exciting, I can possibly add here.

But, I still did need to write about this brand. Skipping it would be mean ignoring the elephant in the room, thing...

This site is big, both in terms of what's on display, and the sheer number of bettors it has on its platform; which easily run into hundreds of thousands. Though an official figure has never been released by them.

One can bet on all sorts of sports, play hot slot titles, dabble into live roulette, or put up money on horses. They got Rival, Betsoft and RealTime providing the gaming software. These three companies are one of the best in the business.

Their poker network is even bigger. I think it easily competes with the likes of Pokerstars and WSOP. I don't believe for one second, that many pro players at WSOP, for example, wouldn't have accounts here, too. Bovada poker is too big to be simply ignored. Their Sit N Go weekly tournament, alone has something like a $1.5 Million jackpot cash prize.

It would probably be a good idea to go through a few of its sister sites too; say poker-focused Ignition Casino; slots-only Cafe Casino and Slots.lv; or Bodog, its Canadian big brother.

Being an offshore site, they, realistically, should be compared with other entities, of similar-ish size and genetics, say BetOnline, and not places like Fanduel.

I would choose Fanduel for small-time bets, and Bovada or BetOnline for die rich or die tryin' bets.

Reddit's got hundreds of Bovada threads, basically tons of reviews on this brand. And, they got an above-average reputation there. There's never been any worrying complaints about this brand, which proves that it's a secure and legit betting site for Americans.

But...somehow for some reason, its ratings on places like TrustPilot are terrible; something like 1.3 out of 5.0 last time I checked. But most complaints are related to wins based on bonus not being honored due to wagering requirements; rigged poker rooms or fake casino games - not possible because Bovada doesn't code them, igaming providers do. Bovada doesn't respond to such reviews, but it should.

Let's quickly do some technicals, if you aren't bored by now.

They got all kinds of different kinds of promotions ranging from Welcome Bonuses to Refer-a-Friend and so on. For example, Bovada offers a bonus of 100% for fresh deposits (new players) and it can go all the way up to $3,000. There's no code needed as such. If you're still unsure; hit them up on live chat.

Which brings us to their customer support. Being a massive betting site, they have a very comprehensive help center area. Perhaps, it has thousands of questions already answered. If you need to talk to someone, get in touch through Live Chat, or send them a ticket. They usually answer within a few hours. Tech support through phone is also available, though most of their staff is outsourced to Albania.

Their Rewards program is also something, that's quite popular - at least within their own ecosystem.

They link it with their VIP program, so the more money you spend, the more points you earn. If you spend large amounts, consistently, they'll even invite you over to their exclusive BVX Casino.

No mobile app exists, but their platform performs fine on all reasonable smartphones. You do need a good broadband connection, though.

My only little beef, is that their site loads slow, and is VERY restrictive in terms of the countries, it can entertain. Like, it bans traffic from all, other the US, and few select countries. It's annoying, because one needs to be *actually* living inside the US, use a US VPN IP simply to browse their site.

But all this is also good, if you want to make up your mind around their security procedures. They're a professional bookmaker, and have been for while. I don't think, Bovada will ever *knowingly* undermine the high-privacy-expectations of their customers.

They also got bank transfers and Matchpay, which gives its players the ability to use Paypal, Venmo and Apple Pay for deposits, indirectly. They got terribly high fees on cards, goes up to like 15.9% and even higher. Only the first deposit is free, and that too has a max. limit of $1500. Min. deposit is $20 on Visa/Mastercard. And, I also don't get the hoopla around fee. It's gambling for God's sake. You'll end up losing your deposit anyway. Why make stupid fuss, over a few dollars.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (ETH, Tether etc.) is where Bovada is probably worth looking at. With a minimum $10 and maximum $5,000 per transaction, one can save a ton on the fees.

Needless to say, but Bovada enjoys an undisputed reputation of quickly paying out all valid winnings, regardless of the size of the amounts. All withdrawal requests are processed as soon as possible, provided the basic KYC has been completed.

Now that you know all this, nothing should technically stop you, from opening up a new account at Bovada.

Official website address: www.bovada.lv

Christopher Meyers

Why should Christopher's review be trusted?

Took a Graduate Certificate in Gaming Management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This gives him the know-how on topics of Internet Mobile Gaming, Casino Accounting and Auditing, among others.
Worked as a Licensing Agent at AGCO's Licensing & Registration Branch at Fort Erie, Ontario for two years, thus giving him the in-depth knowledge of the workings of sports betting sites, casinos and racebooks.
Took an online course from the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education on Ethics, learning topics like Moral truth and Freedom, knowledge and responsibility, thus giving him the courage to write reviews that are original and truthful to the core.

A word from the author:

To make this review fair, transparent and to remove any sponsorship bias, I allocated anywhere between $500 (for casual betting) to $25,000 (for evaluating the quality of the high-roller gambling services) out of my own pocket for testing the browser-based platform and the app (where available) of this betting site.

This money was spent on online casino games and sports betting, depending on what the place is primarily known for. For example, certain brands only cater to slots, while others are predominantly sportsbooks.
My tests involved all the processes, such as initial deposit and accepting welcome bonuses, KYC, an actual experience of playing the games, and finally withdrawing my winnings, if any.

Legally Binding Oath: I hereby declare that the above made statements are true to the best of my knowledge and belief, and that I understand it may be used as evidence in court and is subject to penalty for perjury.

Disclosure: BestSites.Bet is not compensated, for any outbound clicks or new customer signups at Bovada.lv. This document is free of affiliate marketing links in order to maintain its editorial integrity. As per our internal company policy, we do not use any AI or Automated tools to produce content on this website. To maintain the accuracy and innovation of new ideas, all reviews are written and edited by real humans. Guaranteed.

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Page Last Updated: 9th February 2024.