Bovada Review 2020

Posted : admin On 4/2/2022

Bovada.lv is a new online bookmakers that is closely related to Bodog. When Bodog left the US market in late 2011, it created Bovada as a sister company to continue offering wagering to residents of the United States. Thus at this site, all members get the same trusted experience that Bodog has been offering for years.

Bovada Poker Review 2020
Bovada Poker Review 2020
Bovada Review Reddit 2020
Is Bovada Reliable

What I Like About Them

The site’s biggest advantage is its trusted name in the sports gambling world. The people that run the site’s in-play section are recognized for treating customers well and offering timely payouts on all wagers. There are plenty of low class operations out there, but this one bucks the trend by offering customers a trustworthy place to wager.

Both Bovada real money and play money markets are available on the mobile app also. Why not compare the Bovada app with others, using our 888Poker or Is Global Poker secure review? Bovada Poker In Michigan - Coming soon? Bovada poker is a branch of the Ignition poker brand, so it pretty much runs the same way that Ignition poker runs. Bovada currently accepts players from the United States and Mexico (they expanded to Mexico in February of 2017). They provide phone support for both countries: 1-888-263-0000 for USA and 1-800-953-0584 for Mexico. You can also contact them via e-mail and usually get an answer within 30 minutes. More US-Friendly Online Bookmakers. BetOnline Review.

The next thing that I like about their live platform is its selection of wagers for each event. Any time there is an event open for wagers, the gambling site provides a wide variety of bets. Players can wager on who will score the next point, what the point total will be at the next break and much more. Compared to average US online bookmakers, this site has an enormous selection of live wagers.

Additionally, they offer in-play wagering for events around the clock. You can visit their sportsbooks almost any time of the day and find multiple sports events open. This requires a lot of resources which many operators lack of in the U.S. market – these guys, however, are able to get it done.

Only a fraction of available in-play bets for Fulham vs. Hull City

The variety of in-running events is another plus for Bovada.lv. Although they target the US gambling market, they provide options for placing bets on sports around the world. Just tonight I logged into their and found wagers on a hockey game, a tennis match, a basketball game and a soccer game. This variety makes them a strong choice for in-play sports bettors of all types.

What I Don’t Like About Them

I have just one major complaint about Bovada’s in-game wagering: the book does not yet offer live streaming for sports events. They do provide live updates on points and certain stats, but it would be nice if they could stream events to your PC. Some of the biggest sites in the world such as Bet365 Betting are able to bring live sporting events right to your computer free of charge.

Other than that, they do a pretty darn good job. There’s a big selection of events and each event has plenty of options that change as each match progresses. The betting lines are about average, but nothing spectacular. We see better lines at some sportsbooks (like 5Dimes) and worse lines at others.

For most people, the lines at this site are good enough to get the job done.

Live Betting Options

Bovada covers all the major sports of the world extensively, but it does lack on some of the more obscure sports (such as handball and water polo). If you mainly bet on mainstream sports such as football, soccer, basketball or hockey, this siet has some great options. 5Dimes may offer an even better selection on less popular sports.

For the sports that they do cover, the options are plentiful. Each live event at Bovada Sports comes with a long list of constantly-changing bets. For example, I looked at the options for a Dallas-Utah basketball game and saw all the following wagers:

Live moneyline
Live spread
Live point total
Will the next basket be for 1, 2 or 3 points?
Which team will reach its point milestone first? (Jazz 24, Mavericks 31)
Will A. Jefferson make his first field goal event?
Will the total points scored by the Mavericks in the 2^nd quarter be odd or even?
And about 10 more

Football

Football is one of this site’s strongest points. As a US-friendly betting site, in-depth football coverage is a must. They cover every preseason game, regular season game and post season game in great deal. The live betting options for each football game are extensive. They offer wagers on games in the NFL, NCAA, CFL, UFL and Arena Football League.

Basketball

All the biggest NBA games are covered in the in-running area and each game comes with a long list of in-play wagers. The live basketball lineup includes both professional and college basketball.

Who will win the championship?

In addition to normal bets, they currently offer seven future bets (for winners of each division and conference plus NBA championship) and a specials bet (who will be the MVP of the season?).

Baseball

Considering the sheer number of baseball games played in the US every year, the site impresses me with its ability to keep track of them all. Not every baseball game is covered in the in-game area, but you won’t suffer from a lack of options. College baseball games are also covered, but not to the same extent as the MLB.

Hockey

Pretty much the same story here. They keep up to date on hockey and offers a variety of betting options. In addition to the NHL, they offer betting lines for the main hockey leagues in eight countries, as well as any World Championships events and such.

You have many ways to bet on NHL games – for example, you have several different ways to bet on the upcoming Rangers vs. Maple Leafs game, such as over/under bets and props. Each hockey league has its own future bets (seven of them for the NHL, which include division, conference and league winners).

Other Sports

Bovada’s in-play wagering also extends to other sports like soccer, cricket, UFC/MMA, rugby, horse racing, snooker and darts. Soccer is popular here despite them being a US-facing sportsbook. During my last visit to the site, I saw eight live soccer games scheduled for the next day.

How to Deposit

You can deposit to the site via either Visa or Mastercard credit card, Visa gift card or Bitcoin. They used to allow you to deposit using money transfer services (MoneyGram and Western Union) but they no longer mention that option on the website:

A screenshot from the Deposit Options page at www.bovada.lv.

The good news is that Bitcoin deposits are free; the bad news is that Visa deposits cost 4.9% of the deposit amount and Mastercard deposits cost 6.9%. You’ll have to get quite a return for your money if you want to turn profit. I doubt they’re charging that much for nothing, though – the likely reason is that U.S. gambling deposits require a lot of work to process.

Card deposits have a limit of $20-$1,000 and Bitcoin deposits have a limit of $20-$5,000. Both deposit methods (credit/debit card and Bitcoin) are processed instantly.

Sports Betting Bonus

Sports bettors get a 50% deposit bonus up to $250 with a 5x rollover requirement (applies to both sports betting and horse racing). This bonus is only for your first deposit. You can also use the bonus offer on casino games (the difference being a 30x rollover requirement at the casino vs. 5x at the sportsbook).

How to Cash Out

As mentioned, Bovada no longer offers money transfer (Western Union and MoneyGram) deposits, and neither do they offer money transfer payouts.

Your only payouts options are Bitcoin (with a limit of $20-$9,500, processed instantly) and check by courier (with a limit of $50-$3,000, takes 2-3 weeks to arrive). Every customer gets one free withdrawal per calendar month. Any subsequent withdrawals cost $50 a piece.

Customer Service

Bovada currently accepts players from the United States and Mexico (they expanded to Mexico in February of 2017). They provide phone support for both countries: 1-888-263-0000 for USA and 1-800-953-0584 for Mexico. You can also contact them via e-mail and usually get an answer within 30 minutes.

More US-Friendly Online Bookmakers

Yes, Bovada is legit. It is not a scam because they will never steal your money or deny your payment request. And all its winners receive their money without a problem.

But does Bovada cheat its players? It the gambling site worth trying out?

Bovada says you should join the service and “become a part of a leading betting platform“. That would suggest that Bovada is a leading betting platform.

This Bovada review will examine the features, offerings, policies and everything else about Bovada to help you decide if the casino is a leading one as they claim and whether they are worth trying at all.

Bovada review at a glance

Bovada Casino is an online gaming casino launched in 2011; Bovada offers other betting operations such as sports betting and horse racing
Their games are from three popular gaming providers – Real-Time Gaming, Betsoft and Rival Gaming
They offer a wide array of over 300 exciting and recreational games
The casino is mobile compatible, and even have games exclusive to mobile devices
They employ 128-bit encryption algorithm to secure all users’ data in their systems
They support multiple options for making deposits and withdrawals. The deposit limit are: min – $20, and max – $1,500; while the withdrawal limits are: min – $100, and max – $3,000.
They have a high reputation for excellent customer support; and most importantly, for fast payouts

What is Bovada?

Bovada is a big name in the betting spheres; apart from the online casino, they run other betting operations such as sports betting and horse racing betting.

The online gambling site which this review is interested in taking off in 2011. In the years that follow, they have managed to create a good reputation in the industry (this review will touch this later). Bovada is owned by the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group. This is the same group that owns the very popular Bodog casino from which Bovada spun off. The Bovada website is https://www.bovada.lv. It is available in English, Spanish and Chinese.

You can sign up with Bovada if you’re 18 years and above. However, you’ll have to check with your local laws to know if you are legally allowed to gamble. This is because many jurisdictions raise the permissible age to 21.

Signing up simply requires submitting your personal information when prompted; after that, you can proceed to make your first deposit, and then you can start placing bets on games.

Is Bovada legit?

Bovada is legit. They are and not a scam. In this section, we’ll examine whether the is legit by law, whether its games are rigged, and whether it is safe to send them sensitive data.

Gaming License

There are many scammers lurking around on the internet; with some even hiding behind company names. Therefore it is wise to determine if any online group that you’ll send your money to is legitimate. The very first test of a casino’s legitimacy is whether they have a license to operate.

Bovada Casino used to hold a Kahnawake Gaming Commission license. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is a popular and trusted gaming regulatory body that licenses and regulates the majorly online casino, online poker rooms and online sportsbook sites.

Some have it that Bovada voluntarily relinquished its license with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, and others have it that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission terminated the license of Bovada. Whatever the case, the bottom line is that Bovada is operating without a valid license. Illegal? In the least, it means that Bovada is unregulated (read: zero protection for players).

Fairness of the games

If you are to place bets on any casino game, you need to have a chance of winning. If there’s no chance that you’ll win, then the games are rigged, which makes the site nothing but an official scamming house.

One way of determining that casino games are fair and “winnable” is to look out for third party audit seals. These third-party audit seals convey that the casino games have been tested and found to be fair and random enough that players have a chance of winning.

Sadly, the Bovada game website he no such third party audit seals. Since such seals communicate the legitimacy of a casino, any casino having them openly displays them; therefore, their absence from the Bovada website is concerning. It can mean that the Bovada games have not been tested for fairness, or that the Bovada games are not fair.

Since Bovada gives us no third party audit proofs that should conclusively end the discussion about the fairness of their games; we did a little searching. The outcome was bitter-sweet.

The sweet part is that the Bovada games are the same games offered by Bodog, and the games have been verified at the Bodog website. The bitter part is that there are a lot of reviews that call out the fairness of the Bovada RNGs (Random Number Generators).

The Bovada blackjack especially seems unwinnable; if you decide to hit and bust, they’ll show a slightly higher number than you have; but if you decide not to hit, they’ll show a 20 or near 20. Every time, you lose; and the frequency of its occurrence makes it less random and more of a pattern.

Security and Privacy

You give up very sensitive information whenever you sign up and make use of a casino. According to the Bovada Terms and Conditions, “If you choose to register an Account you will be required to provide your full name, address, date of birth, email address and telephone number“; and sometimes Bovada will require you to submit additional information if your identity cannot be validated. Apart from personal information, when you make deposits, you’ll be submitting credit card information and the like.

I don’t know anyone who’ll want this information to get into the hands of hackers; I mean those who practise the dark art, that is identity thieves, cyber fraudsters etc. Therefore, you’ll have to consider if the casino has a structure that protects all your information in their systems.

Games Selection And Gaming Provider

In this regard, Bovada uses a 128-bit encryption algorithm to secure all data in their system. The 128-bit encryption is one of the most secure encryption methods and is still considered unbreakable. The security of your data with Bovada is guaranteed with the encryption standard employed.

However, security-focused organizations such as banks and the military have moved to the longer key encryption (AES 256-bit) which is widely regarded as the best encryption level there currently is. Interestingly, some casinos are also using the bank-grade, military-grade top notch 256 bit; but Bovada sits with the 128-bit encryption algorithm. Should you worry? No, but just saying.

Software Providers

One of the impressive things about Bovada is that their games are from multiple online gaming software providers.

Multiple providers is an important consideration to most players because particular providers include particular graphics and game-play styles. Having games provided by different software providers ensures that the casino offers games that give players different experiences.

Bovada games are from RealTime Gaming, Betsoft and Rival gaming. These are some of the most popular names among online gaming providers.

The download-based and instant play version

Bovada, like most other game sites, provides games that can be downloaded to devices, and those that can be played directly from their servers. The download based version requires that the player has space on his/ her device to accommodate the game; the game is downloaded into the device, and the user can play it from there anytime.

The instant-play versions require that the player access and play the game through a web browser. There’s no downloading required, but internet access and bandwidth are required every time to play the game.

Mobile Compatibility

The world is shifting to mobile, more time is now being spent gaming on mobile devices than on desktop. Therefore it is necessary to find a game that supports mobile devices.

Bovada says you can count on them to shift with the mobile trend. True too that the games come across as a true mobile-friendly game.

They offer a ton of mobile games that you can play while on the go. All you need do is simply log on to their site with your mobile device; the mobile-optimized version of the Bovada has the same games as the desktop casino. They even have some games that are available through mobile-only, an example is the slot game – Jackpot Piñatas.

Bovada Poker Review 2020

Practice or real money play

In any gambling site, players commit real money and play to win real money or prizes. The Bovada games give this. Also, they also offer practice games that allow the players to have a gambling experience without committing real money. The account gives the player virtual money that can be placed on games; which would either be lost or won just like in a normal betting ground.

Restricted Countries

You’ll need to know whether a gambling site allows players from your country before thinking of signing up. If there are strict laws restricting gambling in certain regions, casinos would understandably not support those regions.

This effectively limits the market for casinos. Few countries allowed means a small pool from which casino players can come from, and few countries restricted to mean a large pool from which casino players can co he from. Therefore, it’s a big plus if a casino restricts only a few countries; and it’s a minus if they restrict too many countries.

That said, Bovada is kind of aimed at US and Canada players; as a result, they restrict almost every other country in the world. That’s a deliberate exaggeration, but the list of restricted countries is pretty long.

Available Banking Options

For the same reason, a player would consider whether the casino supports players from his/ her territory, a player should also check available banking options. You wouldn’t want to sign up for a site only to find out that you cannot make a deposit because they do not support any payment method available in your region. Players also check whether the supported methods will afford them convenient payments. Therefore a casino should support a wide range of convenient payment methods.

Deposit Methods:

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Bovada accepts many of the popular payment methods for making deposits. You can use Credit/ debit cards (Visa or MasterCard). Your first deposit made using Visa, MasterCard or American Express is free; for subsequent deposits, 5.9% fee will be charged on all Visa or MasterCard deposits, and 9.9% fee will be charged on all Amex deposits. You can also make deposits using prepaid visa cards, money transfer via Western Union (the associated fees can be between 6% and 15% of the total), and transfer via MoneyGram (transfer fees are about 5% to 10% of the total).

They have also started accepting bitcoin since 2016; you simply set up a bitcoin wallet and fund it with your credit/ debit card.

The only accepted currency is the U.S. dollars ($). The minimum deposit amount is $20 with cards and $10 with bitcoin; while the maximum deposit amount is $1,500 with cards and $5,000 with bitcoin.

Withdrawals

One of the most important areas to any casino player is payouts. When you make deposits, you are, most often than not, instantly debited; it is also almost generic that players lose bets more often than they win bets. Therefore, when you win bets you want to make sure that you can easily withdraw the money, and that the money gets to you, and fast. We’ll examine the withdrawal options that Bovada makes available, and how fast they are.

There are a number of withdrawal methods supported by Bovada. The one most encouraged is physical bank cheques. This also shows that the game site is targeted at the U.S market; cheques get mailed fastly to players within allowed U.S. region. It was also interesting to know that cheque payment does not cost the player anything. Bovada also allows you to withdraw via money transfer through Western Union.

However, this option attracts a processing fee, and you’ll also need to contact support. However, it is a very fast means of getting your cashouts. Lastly, Bovada allows players to make withdrawals through bitcoins.

Like every casino in the market, Bovada has a minimum and maximum withdrawal limits, which is also dependent on the payment method is chosen.

For Bitcoin withdrawals, the minimum amount is $10 while the maximum is $9,500; and the number of withdrawal that can be made is limited to one in 3 days.

Cheques by Courier has a minimum withdrawal limit of $100 and a maximum limit of $3,000, and the number of withdrawals that can be made is limited to one in 7 days.

Games that have slow payouts are usually not recommended. Bovada has a good reputation when it comes to payouts. They remain one of the fastest game sites for delivering cash-out checks. Typically, bitcoin payments take mere minutes once the transaction is confirmed, bank transfers take anything between 1 to 10 days, while checks take 7 to 28 days.

Customer Support

Customer support is always mentioned as an important consideration when deciding on gambling site. This is because it is inevitable that a casino player will have to contact the service’ customer support team. When that happens, no player will love to be kept waiting for too long to be answered, or worst still to be completely ignored.

The effectiveness of a customer support service is measured by the available options for getting assistance, and the timeliness of responses obtained. Bovada supports all the popular options for initiating direct contact. This includes email support service, online ticket system, telephone support service, and live chat.

Bovada customer service scores high on virtually all reviews. They promise that their customer support team is available 24/ 7 to treat users’ issues. True to that, when you send in a support ticket, they endeavour to reply within 24 hours. While this is okay; it can be improved upon to al least a few hours.

However, if you want instant responses, the live chat feature is there for you. The support staff you meet almost all the time tend to be professional, and genuinely interested in walking you through your issue. If you’ll rather talk with a support rep, Bovada provides a toll-free U.S. line (1-866-234-1324).

Summary

Bovada is a legitimate gambling site and also one of the most popular betting platform in the US owing largely to other products such as sports betting and horse racing betting.

Bovada games are provided by three of the biggest online gaming providers in the industry (RealTime Gaming, Betsoft, and Rival Gaming). This already shows that there is a variety of great games to choose from. There are over 300 quality games (bettings, slots, table games, video poker and speciality games), which promises a pleasant recreational experience.

Bovada Review Reddit 2020

However, despite ticking a lot of the right boxes, Bovada still does not get the “recommended” status in many reviews. Players from too many countries are restricted from using Bovada; this is a minus, but one that can be overlooked.

What cannot be overlooked has to do with the very legitimacy of the gambling site; that is, the licensing of games, as well as the fairness of the games in the games.

Is Bovada Reliable

The game is now operating without a valid license which, in the least, means it is unregulated, and users have zero protection. Also, there are no third-party audit seals that declare the games fair; and there are too many reports of the casino’s RNGs showing a pattern (favouring the dealer) instead of being random.