Bovada Online Sportsbook Review
When the chips are down, when the pressure is on, when you feel the sports betting itch, there is only one place to go to scratch it: Bovada. For more than two decades, players have turned to this magnificent betting site. It is one of the oldest and most established sportsbooks, and welcomes players from all over the USA. This Bovada review will provide you with everything you need to know to get started; including how to make sure you are betting safely and legally, how to make a deposit, and how to request a payout. It will also tell you about bonuses and other neat features.
Bovada has been around for a heck of a long time, over two decades as a matter of fact. It operates legally out of Quebec. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission issued it a license as well as the Certificate of Good Standing. Very few online sportsbooks have this award. Bovada has over a million members from all over America. The only states that Bovada does not accept are Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Residents in all other states have the opportunity to join, and it doesn’t cost any money at all.
Bovada is stacked, packed, and loaded with all the sports, games, odds and wager types you could ever want. Football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, MMA, and so many more are available to bet on. Wager types include straight bets, parlays, totals, if bets, reverses, and round robins. You can even buy points at Bovada, something you can’t do at just any ole’ sportsbook. Bovada has the edge on the competition in so many ways, and they are just getting better and better, and will continue to do so for a very long time.
Yes. Since Bovada is headquartered in Canada, it is out of reach of US law. There seems to be some confusion as to what the sports betting law actually says. It doesn’t make the act of betting itself illegal, it just prevents sports betting sites from being able to operate within US borders unless they are in Nevada or Delaware, both of which have legal state-approved sportsbooks that anyone can go to. Why are sportsbooks confined to just two states? The answer lies with a 1992 law known as PASPA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. It was decided that since both these states had legal sportsbooks prior to 1992, they should be allowed to keep on having them. They were given one year to pass legislation allowing bookmaking.
Unfortunately, no other states have that luxury. For most Americans, the best option is to join an online betting site like Bovada. It is more convenient than traveling to Vegas and just as much fun, maybe even more. Since Bovada functions legally, you will not get in any trouble. In addition, there are not any laws that punish Americans for engaging in sports betting, nor do most state laws include any mention of sports wagering or bookmaking, so you are in the clear.
Yes, when it comes to online sportsbooks that welcome US players safety, Bovada is the best of the best. It has to be since it is such a popular and renowned site. Its millions of members trust the site with their money and personal information. Safety and security features include encryption, which codes the information and makes it unreadable to anyone who does not have a key. In addition, firewalls prevent intrusion and cyber-attacks. Bovada’s tech team spends a lot of time coming up with new security measures to ensure that you will never have to worry about your safety being compromised.
Bovada welcomes players from most states. The only ones that are not accepted are New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Maryland, and Delaware. Other than that, as long as you are old enough to bet in your state, you are welcome to sign up. It would be wise to check your state age law, though, because underage betting is against the law, and while it is not a guarantee that you will get in trouble, the smart money says you should follow the law. This includes making sure that your account is password-protected in order to prevent your kids from accessing the site.
Bovada offers several ways to fund your account. All are easy and convenient. Most people use credit or debit cards. MasterCard and Visa both are acceptable brands. You can deposit as little as $25 or as much as $1,000. They do charge a fee of 4.9 percent. Western Union is a great method, especially if you want to deposit a large sum. You can put as much as $5,000 in your account or as little as $100. You will not have to pay a fee if you deposit more than $300. It only takes two or three days. Rounding out the sportsbooks deposit methods are prepaid cards and MoneyGram. If you want to see a complete list of available trusted deposit methods, visit Bovada’s online cashier.
You may have noticed that credit or debit card is not an option when it comes to legal payout methods. You can thank the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) for this. Because of UIGEA mandates, it is against the law to use credit or debit to make a withdrawal. This law is very unpopular for several reasons. One is that it was sneaked through the court system without being read by any lawmakers. The bill that the UIGEA was attached to had nothing to do with sports betting whatsoever. The passage of the UIGEA was another sneak attack by Congress to get an unpopular law passed.
There are two payout methods available at Bovada, and they are rapid transfer and check by courier. Rapid transfer includes Western Union and MoneyGram. This method takes anywhere from one to two days. You must deposit at least $300 and no more than $5,000. You can pick up you cash from any Western Union or MoneyGram retailer. Check by courier usually takes less than a week. The minimum deposit amount is only $20, and the maximum is $3,000. You get one free payout per month, with each additional withdrawal costing $50.
If there is one thing that Bovada excels at, it’s bonuses. The $250 sports welcome bonus gives you fifty percent off on your first deposit, which you can use for any game except poker. There’s also the $3,000 casino welcome bonus, also good for a first deposit. The 100 percent poker welcome bonus gives you valuable savings on your first deposit up to $1,000. If you know a lot of folks who like to bet on sports, sign ‘em up and check out the refer-a-friend bonus, which gives you 200 percent off. Other cash-saving bonuses include tables mania Tuesdays, the bad beat bonus, and weekly freerolls.
To use a bonus, type the correct promotional code in an email to let Bovada know which bonus you want. A Promo code is simply a way for the site to keep track of bonuses. Also, most bonuses come with a rollover requirement, which means you need to spend a certain dollar amount of deposit money before you can use the bonus. There is a good reason Bovada does this. It’s a way for the site to make sure that people actually patronize the site. The bonuses are not supposed to be “free money,” but rather are a reward for regular members. Check Bovada’s bonuses page for a complete list of rules, regulations, and rollover requirements.
Live in-game betting is a special feature that Bovada offers. It is a fully interactive live sportsbook where you can make all your bets while you watch the game live. You can get live play-by-play statistics, bet on all sorts of current and future events, and watch game recaps. Odds are updated every fifteen minutes or so. It’s a technologically innovative feature geared toward the serious, tech-savvy sports bettor. To try out this amazing feature, visit Bovada’s live betting page. There is no download required, nor does it cost any money. All you have to do is sign up and the world is your oyster!
Mobile betting is the latest craze in sports betting. It as revolutionary to online sportsbooks as the drive-through window was to restaurants. With mobile betting, you can play the books from your portable phone. Wherever you take your smartphone, iPhone, blackberry, or Android, Bovada is there for you. It is fun, convenient, and safe. Bovada’s mobile betting feature includes safety precautions like GeoTracking, which keep track of your location to make sure you are betting from a safe area. You don’t have to download any extra software or apps. All you have to do is sign in from Bovada’s mobile page and the excitement can be yours!
- Bovada Sportsbook
- 50% Cash Bonus for New Players!