Because it’s based in Costa Rica, Bovada was able to operate in the United States even before the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018. But now that you have U.S.-based sportsbooks to consider, is Bovada still worth using? While this platform is currently available in more states than any U.S.-based sportsbook, it also features fewer payout options and an outdated user interface. Below, we’ll review everything else you need to know about Bovada.
How We Reviewed Bovada
There are many factors to consider when evaluating a sportsbook operator. In order to come up with our overall score, we reviewed this platform’s sports variety, bonuses, banking methods, user interface, customer support, and security features.
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| How we score sports betting sites | ||
| Sports Variety | The best sports betting sites offer a wide variety of sporting events and games to bet on. We looked for sports betting sites that consistently have lots of options. | Score: 4.8 |
| Bonuses and Promos | It’s important that bettors understand the terms of the bonuses offered by sports betting sites. We put a premium on sites whose bonuses have clear terms and conditions, and continue to offer promotions after their initial welcome bonus. | Score: 4.7 |
| Banking Methods | From online banking to cryptocurrency, bettors should be able to make deposits and withdrawals in a way that’s convenient for them. We also factor payout speeds into this rating. | Score: 3.5 |
| User Interface | Making deposits, placing bets, and cashing out should all be easy tasks to accomplish on a sports betting site’s desktop and mobile app. We look for a smooth and engaging user experience. | Score: 3 |
| Customer Support | Sports betting sites should offer multiple help options to their bettors, whether that’s phone support, live chat, or email support. Bettors deserve to be dealing with a real person when issues with betting arise. | Score: 4.7 |
| Security and Safety | Sports betting sites must be licensed with the appropriate regulators. We look for valid licenses and score sports betting sites on how well they protect their bettors’ data. | Score: 4.5 |
| Overall Score: 4.2 |
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Pros and cons
The advantages and disadvantages to using Bovada are both tied to its status as an offshore sportsbook. Bovada offers a high degree of availability — depending on where you live, it may be your only option for using an established online sportsbook. But it also limits your payout options to cryptocurrency or check by courier, while U.S.-based sportsbooks usually allow you to transfer winnings directly to your bank account.
| What We Like | What We Don’t Like |
| Available in almost every state | Limited payout options |
| Wide variety of sports and betting types available | Outdated interface |
| Easy-to-access customer support |
Bovada’s Sportsbook
You can place bets on a wide variety of sports on this platform, including popular options such as football, basketball, and soccer, as well as more niche sports like handball, table tennis, and beach volleyball. Overall, Bovada’s sports betting markets include:
- Aussie Rules Football
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Beach Volleyball
- Boxing
- Cricket
- Cycling
- Darts
- Esports
- Football
- Golf
- Handball
- Hockey
- Horses Futures & Props
- Motor Sports
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Snooker
- Soccer
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- UFC/MMA
- Virtual Sports
- Winter Sports
Live betting information
Bovada offers live betting, which allows you to place bets on a game while it’s in progress. These markets are easy to find — whenever you navigate to a particular sport on this platform, any games that are currently live will be displayed at the top of the page.
It should be noted, though, that Bovada reserves the right to cancel live bets based on obvious line errors, delayed television coverage, and similar situations.
Types of bets available
In addition to allowing you to place bets on a wide variety of sports, Bovada also offers many different types of bets to choose from, such as:
- Spreads: Games usually aren’t evenly matched — most of the time, there’s a favorite and an underdog. Point spreads account for this fact by essentially giving a head start to the underdog. If you bet on the favorite, they’ll need to win the game by a certain margin (the spread) for you to win the bet. Conversely, even if the underdog loses, you will win a bet that was placed on them as long as they lost by fewer points than the spread.
- Moneylines: This type of wager uses a different method to account for the fact that there is usually a favorite and an underdog in each game. In a moneyline bet, if the team you bet on wins the game, you win the bet. But safe bets on favorites offer lower payouts than riskier bets on underdogs.
- Over/Unders: Rather than betting on which team will win, in an over/under bet you are wagering on how many points will be scored in the game.
- Alternate Lines: Operators set their own point spreads, moneylines, and over/unders for each game. On Bovada, you also have the option to adjust these odds with alternate lines. Just keep in mind that “buying” points with alternate lines to make the odds safer will increase the operator fees (also known as “juice”), while “selling” points to make the odds riskier will reduce operator fees.
- Player Props: This type of bet allows you to wager on outcomes that are not tied to the final score of a game. For example, you may bet that a particular running back in a football game will score at least one touchdown. Whether or not that running back’s team actually wins the game, you’ll win the bet if he scores a touchdown.
- Futures: A futures bet is a wager that’s placed on a long-term outcome. For example, at the beginning of the NFL season you may bet that a particular team will win the Super Bowl.
- Parlays: A parlay involves combining multiple wagers into a single bet. While these bets offer high payouts, they also involve a high amount of risk — each individual selection of your parlay will need to win in order for you to win the wager.
Sports betting limits
The minimum sports bet on Bovada is $0.50. As for the maximum bet, that will depend on which event you are wagering on. You can quickly find this information for a particular event by selecting the “BET MAX” button in your bet slip. Just keep in mind that, for any type of bet, the maximum payout on Bovada Sportsbook is $250,000.
Bonuses and Promotions
Bovada offers a number of different bonuses and promotions to attract new users, including:
$250 Sports Welcome Bonus. Bovada will match 50% of your initial deposit with this bonus, which is capped at $250.
$750 Bitcoin Sports Welcome Bonus. Bovada will also match 75% of your first Bitcoin deposit. This bonus is capped at $750.
Refer a Friend. For each person you refer to this platform, Bovada will provide you with a 200% referral bonus for their initial deposit. This bonus is capped at $100 for each referral, though you can get up to $25 extra if your friend uses Bitcoin.
Bovada Banking Options
Bovada offers several options for making deposits and cashing out your winnings. The following tables break down the specific methods that are available as well as other important details you should know:
Deposit methods
| Depositing Method | Minimum Limit | Maximum Limit |
| Visa, Mastercard | $20 | $1,500 |
| Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin | $10 | $5,000 |
| Ethereum | $50 | $5,000 |
| Player Transfer | $10 | $15,000 |
| Direct Bank Transfer | $50 | $450 |
| MatchPay | $20 | $1,000 |
Payout speeds
| Payout Method | Speed |
| Bitcoin | Up to 24 hours after your funds are approved |
| Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin | Up to 1 hour after your funds are approved |
| Check by Courier | Approximately 10 to 15 business days after your funds are approved |
User Interface
Bovada’s interface is where this platform starts to show its age — while the site is easy enough to navigate, it just isn’t as sleek as newer options such as FanDuel and DraftKings.
That said, Bovada does deserve some praise for the convenience of its mobile experience. There’s no app you need to download, as the website is fully optimized for mobile devices. Whether you’re on a smartphone or tablet, all you need to do is enter the Bovada URL into your mobile browser to access a scaled-down version of the site and you can use all the same sports betting features available on the desktop version of Bovada.
Customer Support
Bovada offers live chat, email, and phone options for customer support. You may also be able to save yourself some time by finding the answer yourself in Bovada’s extensive help center.
Security and Safety
The Bovada website features Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protection, which establishes an encrypted link between your browser and Bovada’s web servers. They also utilize a rigorous account verification process to help protect users from identity theft.
If you ever feel like you have a problem with gambling or just need a break, you can also contact Bovada to have your account disabled. You can set up this deactivation to be either temporary or permanent depending on your needs.
Bovada is licensed by Curaçao eGaming, which is one of four organizations that’s authorized to provide Curaçao gaming sublicenses by the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce & Industry. While bettors are more protected when they use operators that are based in the United States, this does allow you to get a third party involved if you ever have a dispute with Bovada.
States Where Bovada Is Available
Currently, Bovada accepts users from every state except Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Nevada. This makes Bovada significantly more available to U.S. users than most of its competitors.