Average Rating on other sites
84 Complete
4.2
LatestCasinoBonuses.com
90 Complete
4.5
WizardOfOdds.com
82 Complete
4.1
CasinoListings.com
80 Complete
4.0
the good
  • Mobile Friendly
  • Accepts Bitcoin
  • Live dealers available
  • No fees on Bitcoin deposits/withdrawals
  • Weekly Promotions
  • Established casino with Poker and Sports Betting options
  • 24/7 Player Support
  • Most popular casino for US residents
the bad
  • Limited banking options
  • 5.9% fee for subsequent deposits made with Visa or MasterCard (First deposit is free)
  • 9.9% fee on subsequent Amex deposits
  • Prohibits players from DE, MD, NY, NJ, and NV

Live Blackjack Dealers

Rules of RNG Blackjack Variations at Bovada

Blackjack VariationBJ PaysSoft 17DoubleRe-Split AcesSurrenderTotal DecksHouse Edge
Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo60.54%
Double Deck Blackjack3:2StandAny 2NoNo20.20%
European Blackjack3:2Stand9 to 11NoNo60.75%
Perfect Pairs Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo60.54%
Single Deck Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo10.19%
Zappit Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo61.15%

Bovada Review

An extension of the infamous Bodog brand, Bovada has established themselves as one of the leading online casinos catering towards US players.

Established in 2007, Bovada has striven to provide a safe environment for US players to enjoy gambling online with Casino, Sportsbook and Poker options.

Is Bovada Legit?

We can say unequivocally that Bovada is a legitimate operation and is safe to play at for US residents. Do a quick search on any forum or reddit and you’ll find that their overall reputation is very positive.

As with any business, there are going to be instances where customers run into particular problems but for the most part, Bovada has an excellent support team that does its best to resolve any issue.

In fact we are supremely confident in Bovada’s ability to provide a professional service that they allow us to mediate the process if anyone clicks through from Blackjackinfo and runs into any problem.

Is Bovada Legal?

Bovada has operated as an online casino to US players for many years as there is no federal law against online gambling which some people get confused with when trying to interpret the UIGEA.

For further information about the US law with regards to online gambling, please refer to our article here.

They do however state in their terms of service that they prohibit players from Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Nevada

The Good

The Bad


Deposit Options

Depositing with Visa/MasterCard/American Express

Deposits can be made with Visa, MasterCard or American Express HOWEVER you should be aware that there are no fees ONLY on your first deposit.

Every subsequent deposit comes with a fee of 5.9% if you are using Visa or MasterCard. American Express is even worse and comes with a whopping 9.9% fee on every subsequent deposit.

The minimum deposit amount is $20 and the maximum deposit amount is $1,500

Depositing to Bovada via Gift Card

If you do decide to use a Gift Card be wary that it may not work 100% of the time due to possible restrictions. Any card that states it is for use in a domestic capacity or within the US only won’t work.

It MUST be good for online and international purchases and is subject to the same Visa/MasterCard fees mentioned above.

Depositing to Bovada via Bitcoin

This is THE best way to make a deposit to Bovada because there are no fees whatsoever when using Bitcoin. It is actually the best to deposit at ANY casino for US residents.

If you do not have access to Bitcoin or are a bit unsure of how to go about converting USD to bitcoin, you can read a comprehensive guide here.

The minimum deposit amount is $10 and the maximum deposit amount is $5,000

Summary

Payment MethodFees on First DepositFees on Subsequent DepositsMinimum DepositMaximum Deposit
Visa/MasterCardFree5.9%$20$1,500
American ExpressFree9.9%$20$1,500
BitcoinFreeFree$10$5,000

Bovada Withdrawal Options

There are only 2 withdrawal methods available which is by Bitcoin or Check via courier. Withdrawal requests generally take up to 48 hours to process.

Withdrawal via Check

After the withdrawal request has been approved, it will take roughly 10-15 business days to receive the Check via courier. Also note that Bovada prohibits sending Checks to P.O Boxes, military addresses or addresses that contain a business name or company name.

There are no fees associated with the first request every 90 days however any subsequent request within the same period will incur a fee of $100.

There is also a minimal withdrawal limit of $100 and a maximum withdrawal limit of $3,000 once every 7 days.

Withdrawal From Bovada via Bitcoin

When withdrawing via Bitcoin, it takes only 15 minutes for the funds to reach your account but please be wary that you should ALWAYS withdraw into a wallet and not into an exchange. This is detailed in our guide here.

There are no fees when withdrawing from Bovada via Bitcoin and there is a minimum withdrawal limit of $10 and a maximum withdrawal limit of $9,500 every 3 days.

ID Validation

All withdrawal requests will require a validation of your identity which involves completing a Credit Card Verification Agreement.

Summary

As you can see there are much less hassles and hoops to jump through if you use Bitcoin. It’s significantly faster, has less potential fees and is more secure coupled with a very low minimum withdrawal limit.

Payment MethodFees on First WithdrawalFees on Withdrawals within same MonthTime to DeliveryMinimum LimitMaximum Limit
CheckFree$5010-15 Business Days$100$3,000
BitcoinFreeFree15 Minutes$10$9,500

Software and Game Diversity

Bovada uses a combination of software providers including Visionary iGaming, Rival, Real Time Gaming, Revolver Gaming and Maiktone Gaming to provide as comprehensive a library as possible for their US customers.

Their current catalogue consists of:

  • 17 Table Games
  • 9 RNG Blackjack Games
  • 201 Slots
  • 17 Video Poker Games
  • 22 Specialty Games
  • Live Casino Games – Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Super 6

Live Blackjack Variations

Blackjack HD

Bovada Live Blackjack

Bovada currently have 6 tables for Blackjack which have 7 seats each with varying betting ranges from:

  • $10 – $500
  • $15 – $750
  • $25 – $1,000
  • $100 – $2,500

The rules for each table are:

  • Total Decks – 6
  • Blackjack Pays 3:2
  • Insurance Pays 2:1
  • Dealer Hit on Soft 17
  • Surrender First Two Cards if Dealer Does Not Have BJ
  • Double Any Two Cards
  • Split Aces Receive One Card Only
  • No Re-split
  • Maximum 3 Seats per Players

Side bets are also available:

  • Pairs pays – 11:1
  • Rummy pays – 9:1

If we use the strategy engine, the house edge of this blackjack variation comes to about 0.58%

Blackjack Early Payout

Bovada Early Payout Blackjack

This is one of the more recent additions to Bovada which has a slightly different take on the traditional Blackjack which is faster paced and offers the option to play up to 3 hands at once.

The reason why it’s fast paced is because it offers to play the hand automatically for you based of basic blackjack strategy (you can of course choose a different action if you want).

The other unique part of this game is the “Early Payout” option which is like surrender in normal blackjack and is calculated by the average outcome of your hand against the dealer’s hand.

The rules are as follows:

  • Total Decks – 6
  • No Peek
  • Deal Hits on Soft 17
  • No resplitting allowed
  • Double on any 2 cards
  • Insurance pays 2:1

Side bets are also available:

  • Pairs pays – 11:1
  • Rummy pays – 9:1

The house edge of this Early Payout Blackjack variation comes to about 0.69% if we input the rules into the basic strategy engine.

RNG Blackjack Variations

Bovada currently provides 9 RNG blackjack variations which have the following rules and house edge

Blackjack VariationBJ PaysSoft 17DoubleRe-Split AcesSurrenderTotal DecksHouse Edge
Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo60.54%
Double Deck Blackjack3:2StandAny 2NoNo20.20%
European Blackjack3:2Stand9 to 11NoNo60.75%
Perfect Pairs Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo60.54%
Single Deck Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo10.19%
Zappit Blackjack3:2HitAny 2NoNo61.15%

Bovada’s Bonus Options

Bovada currently offer 4 different promotions. Let’s break them down to see if they’re worth claiming or not:

$5,000 Bitcoin Bonus

Technically, it’s multiple bonuses that are available to be claimed for both their Sports and Casino offerings which add up to $5,000.

Sports being a once off 50% match bonus up to $500 and Casino being a 150% match bonus up to $1,500 which can be redeemed 3 times.

Bovada’s Casino Bitcoin Bonus

Using the code BVCBITCOIN150, Bovada provide a bonus of 150% up to $1,500 which can be redeemed 3 times but is it worth claiming? Let’s go over the wage requirements:

For those new to casinos, every bonus comes with a wage requirement caveat that states how much the player must wager before they can withdraw any bonus. This is usually found in the terms and conditions of a site.

The wage requirement for this bonus is 25x the deposit plus bonus amount. So hypothetically if you were to opt in for the maximum bonus amount of $1,500 you would have to deposit $1,000 and your wage requirement would be 25 x (1,000 + 2,500) which is $75,000. Pretty hefty requirement and worst of all, live blackjack doesn’t contribute to the wage requirement at all and any form of RNG blackjack contributes anywhere between 5%-10% only.

Unless you’re willing to grind it out playing slots, the bonus just isn’t worth it because it would take a whopping $750,000 worth of wagering to clear it by playing their highest house edged RNG blackjack games.

The wage requirements contribution for each game is:

Casino GameWR Contribution Percentage

Slots, Specialty Games100%
Table Games20%
Video Poker & Blackjack (unless stated otherwise)10%
Single Deck & Double Deck Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat5%
Craps & Live Dealer0%

Bovada’s Sportsbook Bitcoin Bonus

By using the code BVSBITCOIN50, Bovada offer a Sportsbook bonus of 50% up to $500.

So to receive the maximum bonus you would have to deposit $1,000 and the rollover requirement is 5x the initial deposit + bonus ($5,000). Rollover is defined by the lesser of the risk on winning wagers and the risk amount for losing wagers.

So for example if you were to wager $50 to win $25 and won, then $25 would contribute to the rollover requirement. If you were to lose this same bet then $50 would contribute to the rollover requirement.

Underdogchance.com has a decent guide on how to grind it out by constantly betting on events with odds of -110.

$3,000 Casino Welcome Bonus and $250 Sports Welcome Bonus

If you choose not to use Bitcoin, you can claim a casino match bonus of 100% up to $1,000 and a sportsbook match bonus of 50% up to $250.

These are pretty much the same as the Bitcoin bonuses and have the same wage requirement criteria but with different maximum bonus amounts.

Bovada’s 100% up to $500 Poker Bonus

If you’re interest is in Poker then this one’s worth claiming and is released into your account based off how many “Poker Points” you accrue. These are accrued based off how much rake you contribute as you play:

Rake ContributedPoker Points

$1 – $41
$0.50 – $0.990.50
$0.25 – $0.490.25
$0.05 – $0.240.10
$0.01 – $0.040.05

As you build up your Poker Points amount, the bonus is released into your account with no rollover required

LevelPoker PointsBonus Released

115$5
285$20
3185$25
4500$50
51,500$150
65,000$250

Support Details

Bovada prides itself on its level of customer service. You can contact them via phone at:

1-888-263-0000

You can also contact them via online submission form as well as email at [email protected].

You would think a response might take a while via the online route, but the site is dedicated to replying within a four hour window which is great considering the popularity of the site.

Conclusion

In conclusion we highly recommend using Bovada if you are are from the US and looking to gamble online. They have a long standing positive reputation and have been providing an exceptional service for over a decade.

The biggest issue is sorting out how to utilize Bitcoin instead of standard fiat currency but once you do that, the experience is quite seamless and you’ll be able to enjoy Bovada’s services without any issues.


Bovada FAQ

There is an initial processing request time of 48 hours. After that it takes withdrawals via check around 10-15 business days.

There are no fees if you use Bitcoin however if you choose to withdraw via check, it is free only on the first time per 90 days.

There is a $100 fee applied to any subsequent deposit within this same 90 day period.

All users are required to be of at least 18 years old. When you register at Bovada they ask you to confirm your legal age which is monitored to verify you are not under-aged.

Considering everyone uses mobile devices to perform their daily tasks, it’s a pleasure to see Bovada has designed their user experience accordingly. Bovada is very mobile friendly and you don’t even have to download an app to use it.

The casino is functional on both android and Apple devices, making it a great way to gamble on the go. The selection of mobile games on offer is also impressive which includes live dealer games

Bovada has been a little bit late in offering live dealer games but they finally have them now as of March 2018. The software utilized is Visionary iGaming and the games include:

  • Live Blackjack
  • Live Roulette
  • Live Baccarat
  • Super 6

Yes. Bovada’s software is audited by an Australian company called iTech labs. Bovada’s certificate to prove fairness can be found here

Read our step by step bitcoin guide.

Bovada Overview

Website
https://www.bovada.lv/
Operator
Salmon River Technologies Ltd
Established
2007
Software
Realtime Gaming
Bodog
Visionary iGaming
Currencies
Bitcoin, USD
Languages
English

deposit methods

American Express, Bitcoin, MasterCard, Visa, Visa Gift Card

Withdrawal Methods

Bitcoin, Check

Withdrawal times

Request time48 hours
Bitcoin15 Minutes
Check10-15 Business Days

Contact Information

Email
[email protected]
Phone Number
General Support: 1-888-263-0000
Casino: 1-866-234-1324
Poker: 1-866-909-2237