Online sports betting has a quirky history behind it. For the longest time, many people saw this sphere as shady, involving sites whose servers were located in lawless countries operating with no regulation. However, that has never been the case. Virtually every renowned internet sportsbook has run its operations from a region that has legalized this practice and has appointed a body to license and oversee any business that wishes to offer gaming/wagering activities over the World Wide Web.
It all began with the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, as this country was the first to pass laws that allowed online gambling in 1994, and Antigua, an island in the Lesser Antilles, had a massive role to play in the rise of Bodog, one of the most renowned internet sportsbooks ever. It later gave birth to Bovada, its offshoot that targets US gamblers, which many veterans view as THE premium brand in this industry.
Bodog was the brainchild of Canadian entrepreneur Calvin Ayre, who set up the foundation for his online gambling business in 1996 but established and began running Bodog.com in 2000 from San Jose, Costa Rica. It was a project with an ambitious and wise branding strategy that entailed building a sportsbook brand whose name is easy to remember and spell and boasted some personality, unlike its competitors in the day. By 2006, Bodog had grown significantly, opening offices in Antigua, and in 2011, it launched the Bovada domain amidst regulatory gambling changes in the US. The Bovada platform these days gets operated by the Mohawk Morris Gaming Group from Canada, only accepting US residents, as it always intended it will.
Those not based in the United States may want to look into other quality offshore hubs, meaning alternatives to Bovada like BetUS, MyBookie, and BetOnline. These also fall into the category of internationally regulated sites that accept users from countries outside of the ones from where they operate. Concerning Bovada, which ranks as one of the most comprehensive sports betting apps ever, here is a list of territories from within the US where Americans can access it and a rundown of ones where it is unavailable.
California
Residents of the most populous state in the US can join Bovada with no issue. The Golden State is famous as North America’s top card gambling destination, but one that is short on casinos carrying table games and establishments featuring sports wagering kiosks. That is why Californians love Bovada. It has some of the softest odds on the internet and features the highest-end poker software.
Texas
Likely to the surprise of many, Bovada accepts Texans. The Lone Star State has strict gambling laws, with many locals traveling to Louisiana and Oklahoma to get a taste of land-based gaming fun. For those who want to see if Lady Luck is in their corner remotely, Bovada has been open to Texans for over a decade.
Florida
Florida has a population of more than twenty-one million. Its gambling industry is dominated by the Native American Seminole Tribe of Florida, which owns the most massive gaming/betting venues in the Sunshine state. Yet, its online realm is undeveloped, causing many Floridians to turn to Bovada (also run by Natives) and some of its alternatives mentioned above.
Pennsylvania
Despite perception, Pennsylvania is a booming gambling market in the US, even frequently surpassing the yearly revenues generated by the Garden State. And, unlike New Jersey, it does not take an anti-firm no-offshore stance. Thus, it allows Bovada to offer its services to its citizens.
North Carolina
Sports betting recently became legal in North Carolina, with three retail sportsbooks opening. But, online action has been permitted via international sites for years here, making Bovada a trendy brand with North Carolinians. That should remain so, as mobile sports gambling legislation is still getting pushed through in the land home to Grandfather Mountain and Chimney Rock. Until such a bill passes, North Carolina residents unfamiliar with offshore betting should check out a Bovada tutorial online.
Where Is Bovada Illegal?
Technically, people are likely to avoid getting prosecuted for using Bovada to test their luck on games of chance and by trying to predict the outcomes of sporting events, as authorities have better things to do than prosecute online gamblers engaging in their hobby. Yet, the Bovada platform does have a list of restricted regions on its terms and conditions page. It lists Nevada, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware as territories from where it cannot process fiat withdrawals. That is so because these US states have super-developed gambling industries. They have taken a firm anti-offshore stance to protect their tax revenues and want to discourage their residents from playing/betting at internationally-licensed websites.
Still, users who may find themselves in New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Delaware, and Maryland, can enjoy Bovada if they opt to contact the platform’s customer support team and ask for the site staff to arrange a cryptocurrency withdrawal.
