Is Bovada still available in the USA?

Bovada, an offshore gambling platform since around 2011, used to accept bettors from across the United States, albeit unofficially. Over the last year or so, a growing number of states have cut it off entirely. For those still accessing it, the platform’s blend of sports betting, casino games, and poker keeps it a familiar option.
Popularity Despite Everything
Despite the legal themes, Bovada holds appeal. It’s one of the oldest offshore platforms, still offering a wide range: full sportsbook, casino games, slots, poker, live dealers, and even horse race betting. For bettors, that means one familiar site for all forms of gambling, accessible in crypto, typically with faster payouts than some regulated options, especially for players in states without legal online books.
That being said, there are still ways to access Bovada casinos and for players to get the latest Bovada bonus codes, as Frida M'Nyang goes into more details in her review. There’s that fringe thrill, too. People like it for being outside the regulated system. Some users accept the risk, feel they know the platform well. Crypto access bypasses stricter banking checks.
A comment from Redditers gave a glimpse: someone stuck in Ohio was worried about withdrawing funds later, or losing futures bets. Others confirmed that even using VPNs doesn’t always work—some have had accounts closed, even funds seized. That unpredictability can be nerve-wracking. Still, bettors migrate to Bovada from states lacking legal options. And plenty of those states—like California or Texas—don’t police or actively block Bovada yet.
Overview of Restricted States
In recent years, regulators from multiple states—typically those with legal, regulated sportsbooks—sent cease and desist letters to Bovada’s parent company, Harp Media. Bovada reacted by blocking new sign-ups and services in a growing list of states.
At a count around mid-2024, Bovada blocked users in at least eight states: New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, Colorado, and West Virginia. That list kept growing fast. Ohio was added later in August 2024. Then, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Louisiana joined in, bringing the total to around 14 jurisdictions.
In the meantime, even Washington, D.C., and Connecticut were added. In early 2025, Bovada pulled out from Massachusetts, Tennessee, and West Virginia again, pushing the number of places where it’s not available to about 15, plus D.C.
Nuanced Realities
Seen from the outside, Bovada’s retreat may seem like cause for celebration—but it also hints at uneven regulation across states. Some states haven’t prioritized shutting down offshore books. Others swing strongly. Players often find Bovada more intuitive than multiple state-licensed apps, even with the risks involved.
It feels messy. Some users describe sudden account shutdowns, nuanced stories of withdrawals in crypto, the anxiety of crossing borders within the U.S., and triggering geoblocking. That unpredictability creeps into behavior. People told stories of logging in fine in one city, but banned in the next.
At the same time, Bovada doesn’t have the legal standing or consumer protections of licensed U.S. operators. That matters when you care about fairness, dispute resolution, or play-limit onboarding. It invites subjective trust and nostalgia, but not legal reliability.
One thing that companies like Porsche Consulting and similar lack is staying power. And that is precisely one under-discussed factor in Bovada’s strategy. Bovada’s staying power is how little everyday users think about the legal side at all. For many, it’s not a matter of seeking out offshore platforms intentionally—they just Google “bet online” and end up there. Bovada’s SEO strength and longevity give it the feel of legitimacy, especially for first-time bettors in states where regulated options are nonexistent or limited. The line between “not regulated” and “not allowed” is murky for most people, and Bovada benefits from that confusion.
Users rarely read terms of service or examine legal fine print. They just want to place a bet before kickoff. In that sense, Bovada fills a void created by slow-moving state legislation. If anything, its presence reminds regulators that demand doesn’t wait for policy. People will keep betting—legally or otherwise—as long as platforms like Bovada feel seamless enough and consequences feel far-off or theoretical.

Where Bovada Still Operates
Despite the crackdown, Bovada remains accessible in many other states where regulators haven’t taken legal action. Most of those states don’t yet have their own legal sportsbooks. In 2025, Bovada will still be available in the US in places like California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and plenty of others. The legal battle is still ongoing, and the matter will become clear in the coming years.
If your state is not on the list, you can still technically access Bovada sites, and as the situation develops, more could be added to the list. Keep up with the local regulations for full clarity, as the development is ongoing and active.
Why Bovada Still Pulls Markets
States that host legal, regulated gambling markets go after Bovada as its competition. State-regulated casinos love their status, and Bovada is looking to shake it up. Bovada looks to position itself without features like time-out tools, loss limits, or self-exclusion, offering a more loose experience for their players. By contrast, Bovada stays in states with no enforcement action, relying on the legal gray area offshore operators occupy. That’s how it continued to take bets in lots of states—for a while.
State-by-State Snapshot (Mid-2025)
Here’s roughly where things stand:
- Blocked or restricted: New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, Colorado, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Louisiana, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Tennessee. That’s about 15 jurisdictions where Bovada is no longer accessible.
- Accessible (though not legal): most other states—California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, etc. Even in states with legalized gambling, like Arizona (which recently sent a cease and desist in December 2024, but compliance is unclear).
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