Bovada Sportsbook Review

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Bovada is a long-standing sportsbook that carries an unshakable reputation across the online sports betting industry thanks to its legitimacy and integrity. The sportsbook run by Bovada is accessible to players from the USA, with players from the majority of states being able to sign up and punt on its website.

The sportsbook holds a great appeal to punters since it enables them to wager on pretty much everything a sports bettor could think of. Customers at Bovada have a great choice of betting options, including parlays, teasers, props, point spreads, and outrights, among others. The sportsbook also includes in-play betting on sporting events that have already started.

It covers a huge range of markets but the focus generally falls on leagues that are popular in North America, such as NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. US punters get the chance to make punts on things that are otherwise unavailable in Nevada and other states where sports betting has been legalized, for instance on politics and the entertainment industry. In terms of lines, Bovada is known to offer some of the most favorable odds US punters can hope for.

Punters, who deposit and place winning bets at Bovada, will be able to withdraw their profits in a very timely and hassle-free manner. Since the sportsbook is geared towards the needs of the US market, the payment options registered punters are facing are somewhat limited but you still get to top up your betting account with familiar methods like cards by Visa, American Express, and Mastercard. You can boost your balance with a few quick taps as you go thanks to the sportsbook’s mobile capabilities.

First-time bettors have a choice between two very appetizing sign-up offers, one of which is geared towards the needs of punters who prefer to place bigger bets.

Software Platform and Features

software iconBovada’s longevity in this constantly growing industry is no surprise. Seasoned punters may know the history of Bovada is closely linked to that of Bodog, another online betting brand that is hugely popular on the US market. Bodog is one of the most experienced betting brands in the industry as its beginnings date back to 1997 when it actually started out as a provider of sports betting software solutions. The experience in the software provision field is what enabled the brands to offer a high-level betting platform that is especially easy to operate.

Bovada.lv was unveiled at the end of 2011 and it was at that time the two brands started developing into separate companies with different ownership. Ever since it launched, Bovada has been continuously investing into upgrading the look and functionalities of its website.

The sportsbook operates on proprietary software developed by no other than Bodog which is a big plus, considering the vast experience the latter has in this field. The sportsbook stands out with unbeatable usability, offering punters a great number of useful features. The website saw yet another upgrade in 2015 when it changed its interface to make it more user-friendly. All major sports are listed at the left-hand side of the website but there is also a drop-down menu, allowing punters to quickly jump to the other available markets and experiment with different wager types. Like all reputable sportsbooks, Bovada would also allow you to make punts on in-play markets.

The bet slip is located at the right side and is very convenient to use. The website allows you to choose from the three popular odds formats for your bets, but you need to log into your account to change the format since the American one is used by default. You can add wagers to your bet slip with a single click of the mouse button. The bet slip would also calculate your profits for separate selections when you enter the amount you intend to stake. When you make multiple selections, the bet slip enables you to link them into a parlay.

Available Betting Markets

Bovada offers a satisfying versatility of sports, with punters having a broad choice from over 25 different markets. All major US leagues like NBA, MLB, NHL, UFC, and NFL receive a good coverage. There is the option to wager on popular sports like tennis, boxing, volleyball, soccer, cricket, and golf but horse racing is also among the possibilities.

Less conventional sports like handball, badminton, and table tennis are also available. If you get tired of sports betting, you can freshen up your stay at Bovada by wagering on non-sport related events, such as the WSOP, the Game of Thrones series, and the next US elections. Live events that are underway are all listed in the Live Betting section, along with their current results and the upcoming events. We elaborate on some of the most popular markets below.

Basketball

Bovada offers extensive coverage of leagues like the NBA, WNBA, FIBA, and College Basketball. Punters are facing a variety of betting opportunities for this market but some of the most common options include single bets, parlays, and outrights on the winner of the NBA Finals.

NBA propositions are also listed among the options, allowing you to make a bet on who is going to be chosen as the next Rookie of the Year. Those interested in international basketball championships have the chance to bet the point spread, the moneyline, and the over/under totals on events from the FIBA World Cup.

American Football

The sportsbook treats its US customers to a variety of NFL and CFL bets, including outrights on which team is going to emerge victorious in the regular season and receive the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Of course, when the regular NFL season is underway, you also have the option to win yourself some money by wagering on the moneyline, the point spread, and the over/under totals.

Another option for NFL fans, who prefer outrights is to try and predict the total wins of individual teams during the regular season. Bovada also accepts bets on totals, lines and point spreads for the American College Football League (CFL) along with outrights on the winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Tennis

Tennis has been enjoying an increasing popularity in the US as of late, so it makes sense Bovada caters to this demand with a satisfying coverage of events from tennis championships like the ATP, WTA, and the ITF for men and women. When you access this category, you will see all the in-play events listed on top, along with the upcoming games and their exact starting times.

The greatest diversity of options is available for the events from the ATP Tour where you have the chance to wager on games from the Wimbledon tournaments and the ATP Doubles. The ATP Challenger is also covered with a huge range of proposition bets. For example, you can try to predict who is going to win the first set of a given game. Betting on the outright winner of the Wimbledon Championship is yet another option.

Baseball

Another popular category at Bovada is dedicated to baseball, offering you an expansive list of events from the American MLB, and the South Korean KBO, among other options. You can bet on the moneyline, the runline, the point spread, and the over/under totals of the games or go for riskier wagers like total runs, the margin of victory, and whether the total number of runs will be even or odd. Another interesting bet from the baseball category is wagering on whether or not extra innings will be required in a given game.

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey may have originated from Canada but this does not prevent it from enjoying massive popularity among punters from its home country’s Southern neighbor. Bovada presents US punters who are enthusiastic about this exciting sport with a broad choice of lines for events from the NHL. You can wager on the puckline, the moneyline, and the over/under totals while the regular season is underway but combining several of your selections into a parlay is a viable alternative as well. Props and outrights on the winner of the Stanley Cup are also readily available.

UFC/MMA

It is no secret to anyone MMA is big on a global scale but US punters, in particular, are all about making punts on UFC fights. The latter receive an expansive coverage at Bovada which publishes the odds for UFC earlier than many rival sportsbooks and accepts single bets on this championship along with parlays, outrights, and props. Wagers on BAMMA are also accepted.

Horse Racing

Bovada has a separate section on its website that is exclusively reserved for horseracing fans. The drop-down menu for the racebook is again located at the left-hand side, showing you the next five races to take place, along with the competitions be held on all the available tracks during the day.

Speaking of racetracks, at Bovada you get a sufficient coverage of races taking place on some of the biggest racecourses across the US, the UK, and Australia, including Evangeline Downs, Delaware Park, Prairie Meadows, Newmarket, and Newcastle. There is a good variety in terms of betting opportunities, with horse racing fans having a choice from win, place, and show bets along with trifectas and exactas. There is a comprehensive, and dare we say, very useful horse racing calendar, where all the upcoming races are outlined. Futures and propositions are accepted as well. For example, you can try to guess whether there will be a triple-crown winner during the next year.

Deposit and Withdrawal Choices

bank iconWe cannot help but admit the range of payment options supported by Bovada is rather restricted, but this can probably be explained by its focus on the US market where players’ banking choice is by default quite limited.

Deposits at Bovada are made possible via widespread payment solutions like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Another method that some would find more convenient is the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which is a viable alternative for punters who are unwilling to provide their card details to online sportsbooks. Many registered members of Bovada prefer Bitcoin due to the fast withdrawals it allows for. The minimum deposit amount at Bovada is $20 for card payments and $10 for transfers conducted via Bitcoin’s platform. The maximum you are allowed to transfer to your balance per single transaction is $1,000 for the supported cards and $5,000 for Bitcoin.

Fees are pretty much the only downside of depositing at Bovada since only your first card deposit is carried out at no extra cost. All your subsequent deposits via Visa or Mastercard will be charged with a 5.9% fee. The charges on deposits conducted with American Express are even heftier at 9.9% of the deposited amount. Using Bitcoin is practically the only way to avoid extra charges on your Bovada deposits. There are also currency conversion fees which range between 5% and 10%.

Bovada allows for withdrawals carried out via courier checks and Bitcoin only. The minimum amounts differ between the two supported methods. If you cash out your profits with Bitcoin, you will be able to withdraw as little as $10, whereas the minimum for courier checks is higher at $100. The same pertains to the maximum amounts you can cash out from your Bovada balance, with a ceiling of $9,500 (once every 3 days) for Bitcoin payments and $3,000 per week for courier checks.

Keep in mind that you will not receive your money as quickly as you have deposited them because Bovada needs up to 2 days to evaluate your withdrawal request. You can choose to cancel the withdrawal request while it is still pending. How much you will have to wait after the payment has been approved depends on your withdrawal method. Bitcoin withdrawals take up to 15 minutes to complete following the approval, which is why many would prefer to use the cryptocurrency. In contrast, you will have to wait up to 15 business days to receive your payment via a courier check.

We hate to bring it to you, but you will have to put up with fees on your withdrawals as well. Each punter is allowed only one free withdrawal every 3 months. If you request another withdrawal before this period has elapsed, Bovada will charge you $100 in processing fees. If you throw currency conversion fees to the mix, the charges may be greater. That being said, the only currency the sportsbook operates with is USD.

Promotional Incentives and Wagering Info

Now that we have covered the topics of markets diversity, interface, and payment options, let’s see how Bovada measures up against its rivals.

Welcome Offer

Bovada cuts you a nice welcome deal with a 50% Sign-Up Bonus of up to $250. You can redeem this upon making your first deposit as long as you transfer the minimum allowed amount, which is $10 for Bitcoin and $20 for Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. As usual, wagering applies when one receives bonus funds and in this instance, the rollover is set to 5x the total of the bonus and the deposit amount, which applies both for the sports and the horse races.

We mentioned earlier there is another bonus which is geared towards the bigger betting appetites of punters who are not afraid to make more sizable wagers. The other welcome option at Bovada amounts to a 50% first-deposit match of up to $500. Keep in mind your deposit should be conducted with Bitcoin if you wish to qualify for the free monies, so respectively the minimum deposit for this offer is $10.

Also, you need to enter the corresponding promo code to receive the free funds, which in this case is BVSBITCOIN50. The coolest thing about this bonus is that you can use it on any market your heart desires and there are also no restrictions on bet types and odds. The rollover is once again set to 5x the bonus plus deposit amounts.
But these are not the only goodies you can get at Bovada’s sportsbook. You can further increase your sports betting bankroll by taking advantage of the Refer-a-Friend bonuses offered by Bovada. For the purpose, you simply need to recommend the sportsbook to a friend and get them to register and deposit at the website.

Rewards Program

Additionally, punters are automatically enrolled in the sportsbook’s fantastic rewards program. Every $1 wagered on sports earns 3 to 60 reward points, depending on whether you are betting on singles, teasers, parlays, round robins, or horses. In fact, exotic bets on horses earn you the highest number of reward points. You can use your points to purchase free credits to bet more with but the redemption rate is determined on the basis of your tier.

The program consists of 3 rookie levels, 3 pro levels, 3 all-star levels, 3 legend levels, and 1 home-of-fame level, reserved for the most persistent punters who succeed in earning 5 million points. You start at the lowest level where you need to collect 2,500 points which you can exchange for $1. Those who reach legend and hall-of-fame levels enjoy the best redemption rates and receive $1 in exchange for 1,000 points.

Members of the program also receive rebates on their losses, with the percentage ranging between 5% and 15%. Similarly to the welcome bonuses, there is wagering on the reward points and cashbacks. Credits purchased with reward points must be wagered 2x on sports or horse races whereas the cashback bonuses are subject to a rollover of 1x their amount. You can contact Bovada’s friendly support team for further information – they are on standby in the live chat around the clock.

Mobile Apps and Capabilities

mobile iconBovada also gives punters an opportunity to place wagers while on the move. The betting operator has no native mobile software at the current moment but compensates with a mobile-friendly website you can access without having to waste storage space on installing bulky downloadable applications on your smartphone.

The mobile version of the sportsbook runs without a hitch on most iPhones, iPads, and Android-based devices and one of its key features is speed. You undoubtedly will notice how quick it is to move from one page of the sportsbook to another, which is especially convenient for punters who prefer betting on the in-play markets.
Yet, responsiveness is not the only benefit the mobile version of Bovada stands out with. It has succeeded in retaining all the functionalities of the desktop counterpart of the sportsbook. For starters, you get to bet on Bovada’s most popular markets as you go, and in particular, on American football, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, MMA, and hockey, to mention few of the viable alternatives. Live betting is also supported on the move and opens in a separate tab where you can see all ongoing and upcoming events.

The in-browser app is particularly well polished and easy to browse through thanks to its close semblance to the desktop version of the sportsbook. You can find the markets you are interested in a matter of seconds, add bets to your betting slip and confirm them with a few quick taps. Making parlay bets and teasers is just as simple. Punters can go through their previous betting history and track the pending bets they have added to their betting slip. Both depositing and withdrawing go smoothly at the mobile sportsbook of Bovada. Mobile customers also have an access to the chat support facility.

Country Restrictions and Licensing

legislation iconWe previously spoke about Bovada’s association with another major sports betting brand, Bodog. It is impossible not to notice the similarities between the websites of the two brands, but they are actually owned and operated by two different companies. Here it is important to specify that Bovada serves customers from the United States whereas Bodog’s betting products are reserved for customers from Europe and other jurisdictions apart from the USA.

Bovada has been issued a license by the jurisdiction of Curacao, allowing it offer its services legally. The sportsbook is absolutely legit so there is no need to worry about not receiving your money. Everything is fair and square with Bovada, but there are country restrictions which prevent some punters from accessing the sportsbook. Bettors from most of the US are more than welcome to join, except for people from several states that are outside the service area of Bovada. These include the states of Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, and Maryland.