Bovada

Bovada is an online betting site available to customers in the United States (excluding Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York). It was created on December 11th, 2014 as a division of the Bodog brand with the goal of uniquely serving the US market. The brand was created in 2000 by Calvin Ayre, who had previously worked as a consultant for betting software company Cyberoad.

Bovada
Years Active	2011 - Present
Status
Headquarters	Quebec, Canada
Countries	United States (excluding Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York)
Bonus	$250 Welcome Bonus $3000 Casino Bonus 100% Poker Bonus
Claim Bonus	May 2024 Bonus
Deposit	VISA MasterCard American Express Bitcoin Bitcoin Cash Zelle
Withdrawal	Check Bitcoin Bitcoin Cash
Homepage	bovada.lv

As of May 2024, Bovada has become one of the most frequently used online betting sites in the US market. Part of their popularity is attributed to the site's ease of use as well as numerous advertising campaigns. Bovada offers sportsbetting, casino games, live dealers, poker, and horse racing.

Contents

Signup Bonus

Bovada offer new customers a signup bonus upon account registration. Users can claim their bonus by registering through the Bovada May 2024 promo link. This includes a 50% first deposit match up to $250 USD. Users may also apply a valid promo code upon making a deposit to claim additional casino, poker, and Bitcoin bonuses.

Detailed list of Bovada promotions as of May 18, 2024:

Bovada Signup Bonuses - May 2024
Bonus		Promo Code	Link
	$250 First Deposit Bonus	Not required	Claim
	$3000 Casino Bonus	NEWWELCOME	Claim
	$500 Poker Bonus	Not required	Claim
	$500 Bitcoin Sports Bonus	BVSBITCOIN50	Claim
	$4500 Bitcoin Casino Bonus	BVCBITCOIN150	Claim

History

1997-2000: Cyberoad

Established in 1997, Cyberoad was a software company specializing in providing online betting systems. In 1998 their technology was used to launch numerous early internet sportsbooks including Mayan Sports, The Big Book, Grand Prix Sports, and The Sports Machine. These betting sites were unique in offering credit card deposits and e-check withdrawals through the eBanx payment processor. On November 29, 1999 Cyberoad completed the purchase of eBanx. After raising money to go public Cyberoad shut down in 2000.

2000-2001: El Moro and eSportz

El Moro Finances acquired Cyberoad's assets on July 20, 2000. These were allocated to eSportz, a subsidiary of El Moro Finances. The Big Book purchased Grand Prix Sports and reached an agreement to continue using the same betting software (now being distributed by eSportz). Mayan Sports were left offline after failing to reach a similar deal. During this time eSportz created their own betting site Bodog, which was set to operate out of the same offices as The Big Book. Customers of Mayan Sports received e-mails stating that their account information had been transferred over to Bodog.

2001-2003: Kazootek

Bodog and The Big Book used Kazootek Technologies as an accounting firm. They were the same firm managing the eBanx payment system. On June 15th, 2001 two employees of Kazootek (Viktoria Zazuolina and Tatiana Kostiouk) allegedly began embezzling money from company clients. The duo recruited a new employee Greg Tanner to assist them in starting a rival company using technology and funds stolen from Kazootek. The Big Book was rumored to have agreed to become a client, and allegedly began planning to steal source code from eSportz. Following an investigation, Viktoria Zazuolina resigned from Kazootek in the summer of 2003. Bodog announced the termination of it's partnership with The Big Book, and elected to become the sole betting site using eSportz software.

2004-2007: Bodog

In October of 2006 Bodog purchased WorldWide TeleSports for $9 million dollars. At the time WWTS was considered one of the most reputable betting sites serving the US market. Following the purchase Bodog moved their offices from Costa Rica to Antigua, absorbing the existing staff members of WOrldWide TeleSports into their company.

Calvin Ayre continued to build Bodog's brand name through numerous advertising campaigns and sponsored events. Poker's popularity was on the rise following the 2003 WSOP. Bodog reached agreements with David Williams and Josh Arieh (the 2nd and 3rd place finishers in the 2004 WSOP) to don the brand's logo in upcoming televised events. To work around United States' restrictions on gambling advertisements, Bodog aired commercials promoting free-to-play poker on their alternative domain (bodog.net). Customers searching for the site would inevitably stumble upon the pay-to-play version on the main site.

Ayre expanded the brand with non-gambling related projects. This included a music label (Bodog Music), sports blog (BodogBEAT), MMA event (Bodog Fight), and music reality show (Bodog Battle of the Bands).

2007-2009: Domain Seizure

Bodog's primary domain (Bodog.com) stopped working on August 28, 2007. Founder Calvin Ayre e-mailed customers informing them that the site would go back online as soon as possible. Bodog.com was seized by 1st Technology LLC, whom held a patent regarding the transmission of information over a network with reduced bandwidth. 1st Technology LLC begun contacting Bodog in July 2005, and escalated to a lawsuit in September 2006 after not receiving a reply. Bodog representatives failed to appear in court, resulting in the judge issuing a default judgement in March 2007, citing patent infringement. Bodog was ordered to pay $48,937,456 in order to retain their domain.

Following the loss of their primary domain, Bodog released a statement saying that Mohawk Morris Gaming Group were now controlling all company business involving the US market. In an effort to regain control of Bodog.com, they appealed the initial court decision on the grounds that Bodog.com was no longer owned by Calvin Ayre or Bodog. The appeals escalated to Washington but were unsuccessful.

The loss of Bodog.com decreased site traffic obtained from years of prior advertising campaigns. Bodog switched to an alternative domain BodogLife.com until Mohawk Morris Gaming Group eventually paid 1st Technology LLC $48,937,456 in April 2019. Bodog regained control of Bodog.com, greatly increasing website traffic.

Bodog began expanding to international markets. Sportsbooks launched in Canada (Bodog.ca), United Kingdom (Bodog.co.uk), and Asia (Bodog88.com). The brand continued to grow, including sponsoring various English Premier League teams including Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion.

2011-present: Bovada

Following a successful international expansion, Bodog decided to distance their brand name from the potential liability of the US gambling market. On December 14th, 2011 Morris Mohawk Gaming Group renamed the US sportsbook to Bovada. Existing players were notified of the change and assured that their account information was transferred over.

On December 14th, 2011 Morris Mohawk Gaming Group announced that it had ceased operating all Bodog branded websites.

Available States

As of May 2024, Bovada is available to residents of the United States with exception of those living in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Nevada.

Deposits

Bovada Deposit Methods (USD)
Method		Min	Max	Fee
	VISA	$20	$1,000	None
	MasterCard	$20	$1,000	None
	AMEX	$20	$1,000	None
	Bitcoin	No limit	No limit	None
	Bitcoin Cash	No limit	No limit	None
	Zelle	No limit	No limit	None
	Voucher	$10	$3,000	None

Withdrawals

Bovada Withdrawal Methods (USD)
Method		Min	Max	Fee	Process Time
	Bitcoin	$10	$9,500	None	15 minutes
	Bitcoin Cash	$10	$9,500	None	15 minutes
	Check	$100	$3,000	$100	1-2 weeks
	Voucher	$10	$3,000	None	15 minutes