In yet another move to potentially avoid the DOJ banhammer, Bovada has now officially banned all accounts from the state of Washington. The room serves as both a US facing poker room and sportsbook and the state of Washington has explicit laws on the books making online gambling illegal.
Legal Sports Betting Age By State. For many new sports bettors, the minimum age requirement for legal sports betting is one of the single biggest concerns. Even at legal sports betting venues in 2021, underage gambling is viewed as a major offense that can prompt heavy fines or even jail time for sports betting operators, so sportsbooks are extremely strict about who they allow to gamble. Bovada is a legal, safe online sports betting platform that accepts bettors from all US states except Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, and New Jersey. Bovada is based internationally out of Canada and is outside the jurisdiction of certain US sports betting laws that prevent online books from offering their service to US residents. Bovada is a sister site of Ignition, so the poker games are almost all identical, but Bovada hosts a superior set of related gambling platforms. For instance, there's a sportsbook and a racebook, so you can bet on your favorite athletes and ponies.
The official reason given by the website is that the site is having “continuing difficulties finding and maintaining acceptable payment options.” Last month, the site issues the same statement to those with accounts from Maryland.
The site also stopped accepting players from Utah and New York. Utah recently passed a bill explicitly option out of any federal online gaming legalization option, making online gambling illegal in the state.
Bovada is the US facing brand of Bodog. The US version was rebranded to Bovada last year and continues to serve as the 2nd largest US site behind the Merge Gaming network. Bodog’s founder Calvin Ayre and others are currently facing an indictment connected to their sports gambling operations in the United States. It should be noted that while they are banning users from states explicitly outlawing online gaming, sports betting is still illegal in most states.
Bovada Washington State
Players in Washington State with funds still on Bovada have until the end of April to withdraw funds. After that point, the site cannot guarantee what options for withdrawal will be available.