• Bovada has a wide variety of sports, great betting options, cool bonuses, and a quick payout. We hope you have found this Bovada review helpful. Whether it’s online poker, online casino, sports, or horse betting, you can bet safe and get paid fast with Bovada!
• Bovada markets itself to real money players in the United States. They were originally licensed and regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission but is not currently licensed. They offer a full casino software that you can download from their site. They also feature no download games you can play in your browser.
• Many people wonder Is Bovada legal in the US? Bovada is legal for all USA players, and it always has been since its creation. The reason why Bovada is legal to use as a gambling outlet in the United States is that Bovada is located offshore. Offshore sport betting sites do not have to follow any laws in the United States.
• The quick answer: Yes – Bovada is legit. Bovada is legal. Bovada is one of the leading online gambling portal and one of the few that is available for US players. It has already stood the test of time being in this industry for more than 15 years. It features Sportsbook, Racebook, Casino and has a Poker Room.

1. Is Bovada Casino Legit Site
2. Is Bovada A Scam

Bovada’s casino is strong. What we like about them is there are lots of game variations that you won’t find elsewhere. And they’ve only gotten stronger in this area as they’ve brought on additional software partners and upgraded their site. Let’s look at (or, at least most of) their games, along with any pros and cons we see.

This is unbiased Bovada Sportsbook review. In this post, we analyzed the sportbook section to know if legit. We also evaluate all the sport bettings and also show you if they are actually sincere and legal to play on.

If you look for betting houses that accepts US bettors, you’ll always see Bovada with its .lv domain name. However, one of the first things you’ll find when you look at Bovada is that it is an off shoot of another betting house. Being an off-shoot has an ominous feel to it (at least to some).

Is Bovada Sportsbook legit? How does Bovada compare to the other betting houses? This review will X-ray Bovada (the sportsbook section of the site) and bring you the information that’ll help you answer those questions. We’ll look at whether Bovada has the elements that makes a great sportsbook such as: good sports coverage, good betting options, good odds, low minimum bets, mobile betting, live betting, easy to use platform, efficient deposits and payments, and efficient customer support.

Bovada sportsbook at a glance

• Bovada was started in 2011 as the US site of Bodog
• The Sportsbook of Bovada is where you can place bets on sporting events
• The Sportsbook offers lines from over 25 different “sports” including both worldwide and local events
• Apart from the sportsbook, Bovada also operates a racebook, a casino, live dealer games, and a poker house
• Welcome bonus is 50% bonus up to $250 (up to $500 for bitcoin deposits)
• Bonus rollover requirement is 5 times deposit plus bonus amount
• Deposit options are credit cards and bitcoin; while withdrawal options are check and bitcoin
• Min deposit: credit card – $25, bitcoin – $20; max deposit: credit cards – $1,000, bitcoin – $5,000
• Min withdrawal: check – $50,bitcoin – $20; max withdrawal: check – unlimited, bitcoin – $9500 per transaction
• Reputable for offering fast payouts
• 24/ 7 customer support is available via email, chat, and telephone

Bovada – Background

Bovada was created in December of the year 2011. However, any background of Bovada will predate 2011. This is because Bovada is, at best, the US site of Bodog – another online betting platform. Bodog is a betting platform that offers casino services, live dealer casino games, sports betting, race betting, and a poker house. As Bodog grew into new markets, and the US became more hostile to online gambling operators, Bodog thought of a way to disassociate the brand name from US gambling but still retain its share of the US gambling market. That gave birth to Bovada. A new domain (www.bovada.lv) was created and the US members of Bodog were moved to Bovada. Bovada/ Bodog was owned by MMGC (Morris Mohawk Gaming Corporation); but in around 2015, Salmon Rivers Technologies Ltd took over the ownership of Bovada.

The minders didn’t even try to make Bovada different from Bodog; as a result Bovada features the same software, platform, betting options, and services as Bodog.

Offerings of Bovada.lv

You’ll find that, just as Bodog Bovada is not only about sports betting. They also have a casino, live dealer games, a poker house, and a race book. Bovada even use the red and black theme of Bodog.

However, it should be noted that this review will only look at the Bovada.lv sportsbook. For the performance of the Bovada casino or poker room, you’ll have to check our other reviews.

Who can use Bovada Sportsbook

That Bovada was designed specifically so that Bodog will not lose its US market tells you that only US bettors are accepted in Bovada. All other persons outside the US cannot use Bovada, and will have to join Bodog.

However because gambling regulations in the US differs in the various states, not all bettors from the US are accepted. You can’t use Bovada if you’re resident in any of the following US states: Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

And even if you’re resident in a US state that is not restricted, you still have to meet age requirements. Bovada only accept members that are 18 and above or up to the legal age recognized by the local jurisdiction (which is 21 in some).

If you’re of legal age and not resident in a restricted region, you can go to Bovada.lv to join, and enjoy the thrills and rewards offered by sports betting. It’s not advisable to use a location masking technology (like a VPN) to beat the platform and proceed to create an account when you’re resident in one of the restricted locations. If you do, you may be unable to deposit money into your account; and even if you succeed in that, receiving your payment when you withdraw winnings will be very difficult.

Is Bovada Sports legit?

Bovada Sports is actually legit. When you join any sportsbook you’ll have to credit your account to be able to place bets on sporting events. When it comes to sending your hard earned money to an online platform, you have to make sure that the platform is legit, so that you can avoid “stories that touch” (in this case, tales of how you were ripped off).

In this regard, there’s no doubt that Bovada is a legit platform. Bovada is an offshore company that is duly registered in Canada. Suffice it to say that no scam business will seek company registration. Also, Bovada operators are visible and known. The company (and its parent – Bodog) was for a long time owned by Morris Mohawk Gaming Corporation, until ownership of Bovada was transferred to Salmon Rivers Technologies Ltd who operate it till date. Key members of the company (such as the CEO) are known and are available to take responsibility. This lends an argument to Bovada’s legitimacy because the operators of scam houses are largely invisible and unknown.

Lastly, Bovada may be an offshoot of Bodog, but it has been operating independently since its inception. This gives it over 7 years of independent operation which is providing sports betting services and paying winners. Bovada claims to have never “missed a payout”. This is a double rubber stamp on the legit argument for Bovada. First, it’s inconceivable that a scam site will continue to rip people off for as many as 7 years. Secondly, the hallmark of a legit betting house is paying winners; and that is what Bovada sportsbook has been doing in its 7 years of existence.

Is Bovada Sportsbook Safe?

Of course, Bovada sportsbook is safe. When you join and use Bovada.lv, you’ll be sending them more than your money (account top ups); thus, it shouldn’t be enough knowing that the online sportsbook is legit and will not rip you off. You’ll also be sending them sensitive information (such as your credit card details) and your personal information (such as your contact numbers, address, etc); thus, you should also want to know that the online sportsbook is safe and will adequately protect the information that you share with them. If an online platform is not safe, hackers (the dark ones or cyber criminals) will intercept and access your information with them.

Bovada comes out strong in this regard. They use AES 128 bit encryption to secure the data in their system. The encryption level is currently unbreakable; and is the same standard used by most financial institutions. With the use of this technical measure, there’s no doubt that Bovada.lv is safe.

Features

Mobile Betting

More than ever before, bettors want to bet on the go; that is, from anywhere and at anytime. The problem is that one cannot always have his/ her computer handy; thus the only way to have on-the-go betting is with potable mobile devices. Therefore, the ideal online sportsbook will be compatible with mobile devices.

The Bovada Sportsbook site is fully mobile optimized; thus, when you access the sportsbook with a mobile device, it resizes to fit the screen of the device. The sportsbook works well on most mobile platforms such as Android and iOS. The look and feel as well as the features available is similar to the desktop version. Without any hiccup, you’ll be able to switch between sports and place bets.

Betting Interface

We saw somewhere that a great online sportsbook should look great. We just can’t disagree with that. The ideal sportsbook should have a website that’s clean yet attractive, with an interface that’s fully functional and intuitive.

The website of Bovada has always been good, but the recent July 2018 upgrade turned it from good to great. Navigation within the site is easy. On the desktop view; you’ll find that a listing of the sports is available in a menu at the top of the page. Given that the menu cannot hold all the sports offered by Bovada Sportsbook, the last item on the menu is “All Sports (A – Z)”, which would open up other sports not listed. To bet on any of the sport, you only need to click on the sport, and the events available will open up. At the left column of the page, you’ll find “Quick Links”; it allows you to quickly place bets on the major sporting events of the day. The betting slip is also simple to use. It updates automatically as bets are added.

Sports Available

It’s a no-brainer that the ideal sportsbook should have a good coverage of sporting events from different betting markets. That is, they should offer events from multiple sports, regions, and continents. You’ll want to have popular sports such as football, tennis, basketball, etc; but at the same time you’ll want to have less popular and local sports events.

Bovada aced it in terms of available sporting events. Being a US-only sportsbook, they offer the big North American sports such as Basketball, Football, Hockey and Baseball. You’ll also find other popular sports such as Tennis, Soccer, Boxing, Golf, etc. There are local and less popular event like college football; and there are some events that do not even qualify as sports such as Entertainment, Shows and Politics.

You’ll find that Bovada sportsbook does not only attend to the primary league for major sports; you’ll find lines in a host of secondary and tertiary leagues. For example, for those who like to bet on soccer, you’ll find that Bovada draws events from leagues across the world; and they have lines from even fourth and fifth tier of most soccer leagues. It’s by far one of the most expansive lists you’ll find in the industry.

With over 25 “sports” available covering events from all over the world; Bovada Sportsbook comes out strong as an ideal destination for sports betting.

Betting Options

Another important consideration in rating online sportsbook is betting options. While it’s important to have different sporting events, the ideal online sportsbook will also provide various betting options for each sporting event.

Bovada Sportsbook also ticks the box in this regard. For each sporting event, there are a range of options that a bettor can wager on. We checked the online customer review platforms to see what Bovada members have to say about the available betting options; and it’s safe to say that on the whole bettors were satisfied with available options.

Live Betting

One of the advancement that sportsbook have seen over the years is the introduction of live betting. Many players want to rev up the betting excitement by betting on games that are on-going. Thus, it’s almost inconceivable that a modern sportsbook will not offer live betting.

In this regard, Bovada.lv ticks the box. You can bet on games that are ongoing; in most sports, the betting continues till the few minutes before the end of the game.

Bet limits

The ideal sportsbook is one that is available to everybody no matter the size of their wallets. In this regard, the minimum bet should be as low as possible.

In Bovada.lv the minimum bet is $1.00. This is low enough, as it allows bettors to throw a few dollars at games for the chance to boost their bankroll. The maximum bet varies depending on the sports, and the type of wager (spread, moneylines, parlays etc). However, the highest bet you can place in the sportsbook is $5,000 (spreads on NFL). Thus, if you’re a high roller and want to throw tens of thousands of dollars at games, you’ll find that Bovada is not the right place for you. This is especially so as the maximum wager payout in the sportsbook is $100,000

Odds

Also, the ideal sportsbook will have great odds; the higher the odds the more you’ll net if you hit a win. While the odds in Bovada are good, it’s not the best you’ll find in the market. We’ve not seen complaints about odds.

The biggest complaint about Bovada is that they are always slow in posting lines/ odds. It would seem that Bovada waits until the lines are established elsewhere before posting. For this review we closely followed a couple of Sportsbooks, and Bovada consistently came last in posting lines. The implication is that you cannot place your bets as quickly as possible. If you have a particular event in mind to wager on, you’ll have to wait until it’s posted in Bovada, while it must have been posted in other sportsbooks. The one consolation here is that early booking does not guarantee winning.

Another complaint about Bovada.lv sportsbook is that they are also relatively slow in posting wins. That is, after a betted event, if you lose the bet, it’s almost instantly updated and your bet is settled; but if you win, it’s not updated as quick. The problem is that some waiting times for bets to be settled and posted as wins have been reported to take more than 40 minutes.

Is there any problem win will definitely be posted? If there is no fund in your account, and you need your win released to be able to place bets on another event that’s almost starting, you’ll easily see the problem.

That said; it would seem that Bovada.lv does not see this as a problem that is worth fixing urgently. We reason along this line because Bovada’s response to some bettors who raised the concern is that the sportsbook offers live betting and that the concerned bettors may use the live betting feature if their win is not posted until another game they intended to wager on had started.

Promotions

When buying anything online most persons look out for promotions; it’s no different in betting houses. Players look out for houses that offer promotions, because to the players, promotions represent free money. Thus, the ideal betting house will run a lot of promotions.

In this regard Bovada ticks the box as they offer a raft of bonuses which includes welcome bonus, referral bonus, and more

Sign up Bonus

This is Bovada’s way of saying thank you for choosing us. When you join the sportsbook, you’ll get a welcome bonus of 50% of your first deposit, up to $250. To get the maximum value of the offer, you’ll have to deposit $500, and you’ll be rewarded with $250, and you’ll have a total of $750 in your account.

Depositing with bitcoin is incentivized; when you join and make the first deposit via bitcoin, the welcome bonus will be 50% up to $500.

Another thing that makes the welcome bonus very attractive is the rollover requirement. Most often betting houses give attractive bonus but attach restrictive conditions that make it very difficult to clear the bonus. However, in Bovada sportsbook, the rollover requirement is 5 times the deposit plus bonus amount. This means that if you max the offer (deposit $500 and redeem a $250 bonus), you’ll have to wager a total of $3,750 (that is 5 X $750) before you’ll be able to make any withdrawal.

Know that a 5X rollover is the lowest rollover requirement in the industry. Many sportsbooks have a 10 times rollover requirement.

One-Off Promotions

Apart from the welcome bonus which is a constant of the site; there are other promotions which Bovada Sportsbook offers. These promotions are events-specific (usually on particular sporting events), and time-specific (usually available only for specified period of time). To take advantage of these promotions and put some money in your account from time to time, you’ll have to always check their site.

Sometimes, the offers will require you to complete a task such as placing a number of bets on a particular event. The reward for such one-off promotional offers is usually free bets or bonuses.

Referral bonus

You can also get some free money in your account if you invite people to join Bovada. Through the referral program, you can get up to $100 if friends join the sportsbook through your unique referral link. The referral bonus is also subject to the 5X rollover.

Reward Program

Bovada Sportsbook has a loyalty program that rewards players for playing in the house. For every bet you place in the sportsbook (and the other offerings of Bovada such as the casino, poker room and racebook), you’ll earn loyalty points. The more you wager in the house, the more points you earn. The program is tiered, and you climb up the tiers by accumulating more points.

As you move up the tiers, you’ll unlock bigger and better rewards which include cash back on losses, earning free plays and more.

Banking Options

Deposit

You will not have the chance of making any money in the sportsbook except you place bets on lines; and you cannot do that except you have real money in your sportsbook account. Thus, you need banking options to make the deposits. In this regard, some players will want a betting house that supports a range of deposit options so that it would be easier to find one that can be conveniently used.

Bovada does not support a wide range of options. The only deposit options they support are bitcoin and credit cards (Visa, Master card, and Amex). However, if your reason for wanting a lot of options is so that you’ll be more likely to get an easy and convenient method; you won’t have to look beyond Bovada. This is because the deposit process is very simple and straightforward. All deposits are processed quickly, and you’ll have the funds in your account almost immediately.

However, you should know that there is a 5.9% processing fee when you use credit cards for your deposit. If you’ll rather avoid such fees, you’ll want to use bitcoin. Bovada even provides help; in their website, you’ll find information on how to open and use a bitcoin account.

Just as in every betting house, there are limits to how much you can deposit. In Bovada sportsbook, the minimum deposit amount is $25 for all credit cards and $20 for bitcoin; while the maximum deposit amount is $1,000 for all credit cards and $5,000 for bitcoin.

Withdrawal/ Payouts

To many players, the most important consideration in any betting house is payouts (receiving payments when winnings are cashed out). If you are one of such players, you’ll love Bovada because payout is one area where shine brightly.

Just as with the deposit options, Bovada sportsbook does not blow the roof off with payment options. They support only two methods, which are physical check and bitcoin. If alternative payment method is a chief concern of yours, you’ll not like that Bovada does not offer a lot of options. However, if your main concern is just convenience; you’ll find that Bovada’s two methods are super convenient.

There are also some limits in place. The minimum amount that you can withdraw is $50 if you you’re your payout via check and is $20 for bitcoin. There is no maximum withdrawal limit for check payment, but for bitcoin you cannot withdraw more than $9500 per transaction.

However, you’ll agree that how long it takes for the payment to be delivered is an even more important consideration than payment methods or convenience of requesting payment. First, you want a sportsbook that honors all payment requests. Secondly, you want a sportsbook that delivers fast payments. Bovada ticks both boxes.

All you’re requesting payment via bitcoin, you’ll receive the payment almost immediately (sometimes within minutes); but if you choose check payment, you’ll receive your check in two weeks. We’ve scoured the internet for customers’ reviews; and the few late check payments check recorded were delivered in under 3 weeks. In the industry, that remains miles ahead of almost all the competition. That said; for super fast and super convenient payment; you’ll want to choose bitcoin.

Customer Service

In the world of sports betting, customer service is considered by many bettors and industry watchers as one of the most important of the offerings of a betting house. This is because questions and complaints are inevitable; and you’ll want the betting house to attend to your concerns when they do arise. Thus, the ideal legit sportsbook should provide resources for addressing bettors’ questions or issues.

In this regards, Bovada ticks the box. They provide different channels for giving needed assistance. The first is a very detailed FAQ on their website. You’ll find that the FAQ hold answers to many of the questions you may have. You may also choose to directly contact Bovada. Their direct contact channels include email, chat and phone.

When you drop your submissions via email, you’ll get a response within 24 hours which is relatively fast by the industry standards. The live chat also works okay. You’ll get connected to an agent pretty fast; and you’ll be able to get good answers to many generic questions. For the phone service, Bovada provides a toll free line (1-888-263-0000) so you don’t have to worry about charges when contacting them.

One of the good things about Bovada’s customer support service is that it is available round the clock (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Summary

If you want a legit sportsbook that offers a painless sports betting experience, Bovada is really worth looking into. It starts with an easy to use and intuitive website; it continues with easy services such as efficient deposit and payment systems; and caps it up with an efficient customer service. You’ll also find that the sportsbook has great offerings such as good coverage of sporting events, numerous betting options, live betting, and attractive bonuses and promotions.

Reliability is the hallmark of a legit sportsbook; a sportsbook should be reputable to always pay. Add super easy and super fast payment system to guaranteed payment, and you have a great sportsbook. Thankfully, all of the above describes Bovada.lv sportsbook. They never miss a payment, their payment process is easy, and you’ll receive your payment really fast.

If you’ll want to take a break from sports betting, you’ll find that Bovada.lv has secondary offerings which include online casino games, live dealer games, horse racing, and a poker. This allows you to remain in the same house for other betting activities, and it saves you the inconvenience of looking up another house.

However, Bovada is not all bells and whistles; you’ll find that they are one of the slowest to post lines/ odds. So there’s no hope that you’ll put in your bet early. When the odds are finally out, you’ll find that you can get better odds elsewhere. Also, they do not post winnings on time; so if you’ll want to bet on another event with start time close to when your betted events finishes, you’ll need to have funds in your account.

I liked:

• Very easy to use and intuitive website
• Has a good coverage of sporting events, and a good range of betting options
• Live betting is available
• Minimum bet is low (only $1.00); thus, it’s a good house for low rollers
• Very efficient (super easy and super fast) payout
• A handsome welcome bonus (50% match bonus up to $250) and a variety of one-off promotions
• The lowest bonus rollover requirement (5 X deposit + bonus amount)
• Also provides casino games, poker, and race (horse) betting
• Very detailed FAQ; and relatively okay customer service

I didn’t like

• Does not post lines on time
• Does not post wins on time
• Not the best odds you’ll find
• Limited banking options (credit card and bitcoin for deposits; check and bitcoin for withdrawals)
• Charge a high 5.9% processing fee when using credit cards for deposits
• Not the ideal house for high rollers because the highest individual bet is $5,000 and the maximum wager payout is capped at $100,000

Bovada are the best and largest online casino that’s open to USA players. Not only do they have a Real Time Gaming powered casino, they also offer poker and sports betting all from one account. They are one of very few companies with all of these features.

Licensed in Canada, they have been online since 2011 and have millions of customers not only from the USA, but around the world. They process withdrawals within 24 hours and have their own in house customer support team which is why they’re our top pick for the USA. Click here for their official website.

Is Bovada A Scam?

Is Bovada Casino Legit Site

Due to the lack of regulation in the USA gambling industry, trust is imperative as there are a lot scam casinos that don’t pay out winnings and refuse to answer emails. If you search online, there aren’t any complaints about Bovada casino which is a great start.

The only exception is a forum thread where people were talking about the blackjack games at Bovada and someone randomly joined to call it “the most rigged blackjack ever” which is a bit bizarre. The roulette and blackjack games at Bovada are not rigged because they have a house advantage on each of the games and millions of customers. They don’t need to rig anything.

Furthermore, the Bovada games are endorsed by industry mathematician wizardofodds.com and the casino is approved by industry watchdog Casinomeister.com. The truth about these “games are rigged” complaints is that some people find it easy to point the finger rather than look in the mirror after they’ve lost.

Further searches online reveal a few other nonsense forum threads, one of which is titled, “Bovada poker is a fukking scam”. The person that created this thread accused Bovada of being a scam because he or she lost at poker to a better hand from another player. The post is so idiotic that the frequent posters just replied with stuff like “you mad bro” and “Gotta love retards”.

Silly complaints like this are nothing new; it’s exactly the same for the UK’s leading gambling companies such as William Hill. When you have millions of customers, you’re bound to get a few disgruntled losers along the way. We’ve never experienced any problems with Bovada and nor have we ever had anything but positive feedback from our visitors.

Roulette, Blackjack and Slots at Bovada

Seen as how we’re a roulette website, we’ll start with the roulette games. They offer both European and American roulette with table limits of $1 – $1,000.

European is the game you should play because it has a lower house edge (2.7%) than the American game (5.26%). Click on the image to the right for a full size screenshot of their European roulette game.

For blackjack, they have 6 different games to choose from, including the popular Perfect Pairs which as the name suggests, has an (optional) side bet for card pairs. They also have a single deck blackjack game with a house edge of around 0.5%.

For the slots, they have around 100 different games to choose from, including 3D games, 3 reel and 5 reel. The minimum bet per line on some of the games is just $0.01 so they’re open to even the smallest players. The graphics, particularly on the 3D games, are very smooth, crisp and enjoyable to play.

Sports and Poker

As we mentioned higher up, you get casino, sports and poker from one account when you sign up to Bovada and moving money from one to another takes just a few clicks. The poker at Bovada is one of the best because they have the traffic and player base that’s required for a successful poker site.

Nobody wants to sit around waiting for a game and that isn’t an issue at Bovada because they have thousands of players online around the clock, so getting a full lobby does not take very long.

For the sports, you get access not only to USA sporting events, but events all around the world, including European soccer. Here’s just a small election of the sports you can bet on:

• Football (NFL, College, Superbowl, etc)
• Baseball
• Basket Ball
• UFC
• Soccer – Many leagues around the world, including English Premier League, Uefa Champions League and MLS.
• Hockey
• Tennis
• Golf

Is Bovada A Scam

Conclusion

There aren’t many gambling companies open to USA players that offer this much to their customers and it’s why Bovada are our top pick. With the casino, poker and sports, plus in house customer support and withdrawal times of just 24 hours, they are easily the best casino for USA players. You can sign up for a casino account on their official site at casino.bovada.lv.