Bovada Review

Verdict

Pros

• Around 150 top online slot machines from great providers such as RealTime Gaming and RadiB.
• Enjoy a range of safe payment methods. In addition to cards and bank transfers, Bovada is a top cryptocurrency casino, accepting coins like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and USD Tether.
• You can make instant payouts when you cash out with your favorite digital currency, making this one of the casinos with the fastest withdrawals.
• Bovada offers a rewards scheme that earns you points when you play video poker games, slots, or baccarat.
• The bonuses available at this gambling site are good and offer a mix of reload offers and free spins.

Cons

• The range of Bovada casino games is a little limited beyond traditional slots, with 8 blackjack games and 5 video poker games mixing it up with just 4 roulette titles. If you want classic table games, you may want to hunt elsewhere.

Is Bovada Safe?

We only ever recommend safe and secure online casinos for our readers. Unreliable online casinos with poor records on bonus payouts and game selection will never make it past our eagle eyes.

While a Curacao license is not ideal, offshore brands such as Bovada don’t have a lot of options when it comes to licensing. You should take reassurance in the fact that Bovada has been around since 2011. We’re happy to say that we feel that Bovada is a safe online gambling site where you can play casino games with peace of mind.

Bovada Casino Game Selection

Bovada Casino offers a reasonable mix of online slot machines and table games. The spread of software manufacturers is quite limited but the lobby isn’t entirely dominated by RTG, as it is at other US-facing casinos. Let’s explore the online casino section available at Bovada to see what you can enjoy.

Slots

We counted around 150 online slot games as part of our Bovada casino review. The majority of games are provided by Realtime Gaming, RadiB, Proprietary Games, and Bovada itself.

3-reel and 5-reel games dominate the online slots lobby at Bovada. Don’t go looking for the latest titles from NetEnt or Microgaming, however. This is an offshore operation and the range of slot developers is pretty limited.

Here are some of the most popular slot titles available at Bovada at the time of review:

• 777 Deluxe
• Big Money Bigfoot
• Caesar’s Empire
• Crystal Crater
• Gridiron Glory
• Mythic Wolf
• Pandas Go Wild
• Robyn
• Streetball Star
• Zombie FC

Some Bovada Casino slots have progressive jackpots attached. You’ll find these listed under the ‘Hot Drop Jackpots’ tab in the lobby. Hot Drop Jackpots must be won hourly or daily, depending on the game. Look out for the Super Jackpot games which max out at a cool $250,000.

Blackjack

Blackjack fans are well-catered to at Bovada Casino. There are eight casino blackjack titles available at Bovada for real money, including:

• Blackjack
• Classic Blackjack
• Classic Single Deck Blackjack
• Double Deck Blackjack
• European Blackjack
• Perfect Pairs
• Single Deck Blackjack
• Zappit Blackjack

In addition to regular online casino blackjack, you can also enjoy a few live blackjack games from Visionary iGaming. Choose your dealer and gauge the minimum stakes before jumping in.

Roulette

Online roulette is offered across two variants: American and European. You’ll be looking hard if you want to place a bet on French Roulette or dedicated bonus games such as IGT’s Double Bonus Roulette.

There are only four RNG-based roulette games at this online casino site, as follows:

• Classic American Roulette
• Classic European Roulette
• American Roulette
• European Roulette

Our recommendation here is always to choose European versions of roulette over American ones as your odds are slightly better. For instance, the European Roulette game has a house edge of 2.7% compared to the 5.26% of American Roulette.

Table Poker

Bovada has five table poker variants:

• Caribbean Hold’Em Poker
• Caribbean Stud Poker
• Classic Tri Card Poker
• Pai Gow Poker
• Tri Card Poker

It is worth noting that the first two titles on this list come complete with progressive jackpots.

Video Poker

There are a total of eight video poker variants available at the Bovada online casino. Video poker players have access to familiar Jacks or Better titles, plus Double Double Bonus with extra jackpots:

• Bonus Deuces Wild 1 Hand
• Double Double Bonus
• Jacks or Better 1 Hand
• Jacks or Better 3 Hands
• Jacks or Better 10 Hands
• Joker Poker 1 hand
• Joker Poker 3 Hands
• Joker Poker 10 Hands

One thing to note here is that ‘video poker’ does not form part of the main menu at the Bovada casino. Video poker players can find their favorite five-card games under the separate ‘more categories’ tab. You shouldn’t have any problems if you’ve played poker online before.

Speciality Games

Bovada Casino does offer several specialty games away from the main crowd. Craps, Let it Ride and baccarat are all on offer and you can play games from just 50c.

You will also find a simple gambling game called ‘roll the dice’ plus two versions of the fun 3-card Indian game, Teen Patti.

List of Software Providers at Bovada Casino

• DGS
• Genesis
• Revolver Gaming
• RTG
• Rival
• Spinomenal
• Proprietary titles

Can I play Bovada Games for Free?

You can play games at Bovada for free or for real money. Simply set your favorite games to ‘Practice Mode’ in the lobby when you find a game you like. Please be aware that all games with progressive jackpots and all live dealer games at Bovada cannot be played for free at any time.

Bovada Bonus Codes and Promotions

You can use a bonus code and claim a deposit bonus when you open your Bovada Casino account. Start off with a generous welcome bonus before moving on to regular offers and even a loyalty program.

Bovada Welcome Bonus

Our Bovada Casino review unearthed a simple deposit bonus for new signups. The welcome bonus is worth up to $3,000, with the matched funds spread across three separate deposits. The rollover requirement is 25x the deposit plus bonus amount.

There are a few restrictions on how to clear your deposit bonus. You can’t use live casino games such as live roulette or any of the Hot Drop Jackpots. Some table games like craps are also prohibited. Make sure you check out the full offer details at the Bovada casino site before you use your deposit bonus code.

The minimum deposit at Bovada Casino is $20. Use the promo code ‘CAWELCOME100’ for your first deposit and ‘BV2NDCWB’ for your second and third bonuses.

Cryptocurrency Welcome Bonus at Bovada Casino

Luckily, you can access the Bovada welcome bonus when you deposit Bitcoin, Ether, or Bitcoin Cash. The deposit bonus amount is slightly higher at 125% up to $3,750. Make sure you use the welcome bonus code BTCCWB1250 for your first deposit and BTC2NDCWB for your next two deposits.

The first Bovada crypto bonus comes with a 25x playthrough requirement. However, that jumps to 50x for deposits #2 and #3. Live casino games, craps, and progressive jackpot games are all out of the equation when working through your wagering requirements.

Bovada Casino offers an additional 75% cryptocurrency bonus that’s announced as a ‘$750 crypto sports bonus.’ However, the T&Cs state that the offer can be used in online casino play too. Make sure you use the promo code BTCSWB750 if you want to opt for this bonus instead. The playthrough requirement is a little higher at 30x.

Recurring Bonus on Bovada

There are no recurring bonuses at Bovada, which is a shame. All bonuses offered are welcome bonuses, even though some of them run over your first three deposits at the site.

You can check the ‘Promotions’ tab at the Bovada casino from time to time to see if any recurring bonus deals have been added.

Referral Bonus

If you have any casino-minded friends, you can both reap the benefits if you refer them to Bovada and they sign up and make a deposit. When you complete your first deposit at Bovada, you’ll receive an email explaining how you can refer your friend to the site.

You can receive a 200% deposit match bonus of up to $200 for each friend you refer. This comes with the usual bonus T&Cs with 30x wagering requirements. However, wagering is not permitted on some games, such as Single Deck Blackjack, baccarat, Sic Bo, and craps. Your bonus will only be credited once your referred friend makes an initial deposit of at least $20.

Better still, you could both be in line for an additional $75 bonus if your friend makes a first deposit with Bitcoin.

Wagering Requirements

We have already mentioned that wagering for all online casino bonuses is 30x on casino games only. However, there are strict eligibility rates when you play games at Bovada Casino:

• 100% – Slots, Speciality Games
• 20% – Table Games
• 10% – Video Poker, Blackjack, ‘Reels and Wheels XL’
• 5% – Single Deck and Double Deck Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat
• 0% – Craps, ALL Live Dealer Games, ALL Hot Drop Jackpot Games, ‘Gold Rush Gus’, ‘ThunderCrash’

Imagine you are trying to clear $100 in bonus funds at Bovada Casino. You choose to play slots at $1 a spin. That would mean every dollar of slot play would contribute toward the overall bonus amount.

However, imagine you played video poker games at $1 a game. Only 10c of each hand would go toward clearing your total bonus amount.

We found the Bovada Casino hugely favors slots players, so always look for games with the biggest RTPs (Return to Player percentages). This information isn’t readily available in the Bovada lobby, but you can read payout stats in the paytable of each game.

How to sign up & claim your bonus at Bovada

You can open your Bovada Casino account by clicking on our link and completing the registration form. You don’t even need to install a dedicated casino app in order to get started. You don’t need to provide your Social Security Number, but you will need to click on the verification email in your inbox in order to complete the setup process.

Visit Website and Create an Account

Start by checking the laws for online casinos in your state and ensure you mee the minimum legal age requirement. You can then begin the signup process by clicking on the Bovada link on our page. Open the Bovada website and hit the ‘Join’ button.

On the applet that pops up, enter personal details such as your name, date of birth, phone number, and email address. You may also enter a pal’s email address to claim the refer-a-friend bonus. Finish off by creating a unique account password, then hit the Register button.

Verify Account

You will be sent an SMS message to the phone number you registered with. You’ll need this in order to validate your Bovada account. Follow the steps outlined in this message to complete the site verification process.

Deposit / Enter Bonus Code

To deposit, log in to your account and open the cashier tab. Fiat players can deposit using USD. Alternatively, you can make a cryptocurrency deposit using digital coins such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash. Don’t forget to use one of our promo codes to claim your casino welcome bonus.

Make a Deposit

Enter how much you want to deposit, then add your Bovada account password. Your funds should arrive instantly. Once everything is in order confirm that you want to complete your deposit. Your money should be with you in a matter of seconds. Your bonus may take a little longer to arrive.

Play with Real Money

Go through the gaming options available at Bovada and start playing. Win big on table games, slots or the best live dealer action in town.

Live Dealer Games Bovada

Live dealer games are incredibly popular at most online casinos these days, and that’s certainly the case at Bovada! You can enjoy live betting on a range of table games including blackjack and baccarat.

Casino games are provided by Visionary iGaming, one of the big industry leaders. The lack of Evolution Gaming live dealer titles is a downside but you can still enjoy some safe games played one-on-one against the croupier.

Here are all the live dealer game options that are available at Bovada:

• Classic Live Blackjack
• Early Payout Blackjack
• American Roulette
• European Roulette
• Live Baccarat
• Super 6

‘Super 6’ is primarily aimed at Baccarat players who love side bets. In the game, you can opt for the ‘Super 6′, a special side bet on the dealer winning with a total of six.

Bovada Banking Methods

Bovada Casino offers a range of payment options that give you access to funds in a timely fashion. You can use your preferred banking method to claim a bonus or earn points on the Bovada loyalty scheme.

As well as cryptos such as Bitcoin Cash, you can use your regular debit or credit card to make secure payments. There’s a good customer support team at Bovada who can assist if you need any help with payments. In addition, Bovada Casino doesn’t charge a fee when you make a deposit.

MatchPay

Match Pay is a unique payment method where you can buy and sell your Bovada casino credits using PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or CashApp. You can offer your credits when you want to make a withdrawal or look to buy someone else’s credits when you want to make a deposit. The time it takes to make deposits and withdrawals in this way is dependent upon you finding available players to trade with (Min: $20, Max: $1,000).

Credit and Debit Cards

Bovada is an online casino that accepts credit cards and debit cards. You can use a wide range of cards, including Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.

As always when gambling at casinos taking Visa/Mastercard/Amex, watch out for fees before you think about making a bet. Bovada charges a relativelt high 15.9% on all credit card transactions. (Min: $20, Max: $1,500).

Cryptocurrencies

You should be able to use any cryptocurrency you like at the Bovada casino, but the main ones offered are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Litecoin. You can also use Bitcoin Cash to make anonymous digital coin deposits.

The Bovada FAQ section provides detailed explanations on how to get a cryptocurrency wallet and transfer your preferred digital coins. (Min: $10, Max: $5,000).

Vouchers

You can use vouchers at Bovada to transfer cash from or to another player. They are similar to MatchPay in that respect. The voucher represents the amount that is transferred, and you can use a voucher you ‘buy’ from another player to add funds to your account. (Min: $10, Max: $15,000).

Check by Courier

Before you bet, you can send a physical check to Bovada to transfer funds into your casino account. Bovada will only accept checks sent via courier, though. Follow the instructions on the Cashier page in order to send a personal check. (Min: $10, Max: $1,000).

Wire Transfer

A wire transfer service such as Western Union is a failsafe way of moving cash to your online casino account. There are fees when you use the WU service but little lag time in waiting for your bet credits. (Min: $50, Max: $450).

List of deposit methods

List of withdrawal methods

Bovada Casino for Mobile

Bovada online casino has had numerous complaints over its mobile offering. You won’t find a Bovada Casino app to download from the Apple or Google Play stores. Make sure you avoide the Bovada ‘news’ apps in the Store which look like gambling sites but aren’t.

You can still use the Bovada casino app on your mobile device, however. Simply head to the Bovada casino site via your smartphone or tablet. The user interface at Bovada is good enough to handle portable devices and there’s little difference between the online site and the mobile browser version.

Everything you can do at the Bovada casino desktop site can be done on mobile devices too, including depositing and withdrawing. The majority of Bovada’s online games are available on mobile too, including the live casino.

Loyalty Program at Bovada

You can jump straight into Bovada’s loyalty program if you’re a regular player. Earn points every time you make a bet and redeem points for a bonus or other rewards.

This is a points-based scheme, and you earn reward points for all wagers you place on slots, table games, video poker, and specialty games. You can also earn points when you make a sports bet via the Bovada sportsbook.

You can swap your rewards points for bonuses that can be used when you play poker, slots or other casino games. Sports betting bonuses are also on the table. Rewards points come in tandem with Lifetime points that cannot be redeemed but track your Bovada site usage.

In terms of online casino play, the reward points you earn are linked to every dollar you wager, in line with the table below:

• 15 points – specialty games
• 3 points – slot games
• 1.5 points – video poker, arcade games
• 1 point – table games, blackjack

The number of points you need for $1 of bonus money depends on your current ‘Lifetime points’ level, as follows:

• Starter (<2,500 Lifetime points) – 2,500 points per $1
• Rookie (2,500 to 25,000 Lifetime points) – 2,500 points per $1
• Pro (25,000 to 150,000 Lifetime points) – 1,666 points per $1
• All-Star (150,000 to 1,000,000 Lifetime points) – 1,250 points per $1
• Legend (1,000,000 to 5,000,000 Lifetime points) – 1,000 points per $1
• Hall of Fame (5,000,000 Lifetime points) – 1,000 per $1

Moving up through the levels may also help you unlock further rewards, such as additional payment methods, faster withdrawals, and extra bonuses and promotions.

It’s just a shame there aren’t any regular retention bonuses at Bovada Casino. We would like to see a Game of the Week slots promotion offering free spins or site credit. Leaderboard challenges would also be a good addition to the online casino.

Are Bovada Casino Complaints Accurate?

Most complaints surround the functionality of Bovada’s software. On the whole, we are satisfied that the user interface at Bovada is secure and the games are above board.

Bovada Customer Support

Customer support is offered via a range of portals at Bovada Casino. The FAQ section is full of helpful advice on everything from making deposits to using cryptocurrencies and clearing a bonus.

In addition, you can contact Bovada via email. The team claims they will respond within 48 hours and we found that checked out when we tested the service.

Alternatively, you can opt for the Bovada live chat service and contact customer support that way. The staff is helpful, if a little robotic, but they answered our query about making a bet with few issues.

Finally, Bovada does have an active community of users via its own forum. This is pretty active and you can always make a post if you have any specific issues or problems.

Bovada Casino History

Bovada was originally created in 2011 but it can trace its roots back to 1997. The site sprung from the software company, Cyberoad, which launched three online sports betting brands in the US: Mayan Sports, The Big Book, and Grand Prix Sports. Eventually, The Big Book and Grand Prix sportsbooks merged to become eSportz, owned by respected gambling entrepreneur, Calvin Ayre.

eSportz then launched its own gambling brand, Bodog. Bodog initially concentrated on poker and rode the success that online Texas Hold’em experienced in the early 2000s. Naturally, Bodog was hit hard in 2011 when American law enforcement agencies illegalized payments from US bank accounts to online gambling sites.

Bodog decided to keep moving forwards and branched out into online casino play. It created the ‘Bovada’ name in 2011 – a mix of ‘Bodog’ and ‘Nevada’ which is the home state of the US gambling metropolis in Las Vegas.

Over the past decade, though, Bodog and Bovada have grown further and further apart. Bodog Casino is a global brand that does not accept players from the US. Bovada is an offshore brand that accepts players from the US and many other jurisdictions. 

For many years Bovada was run by the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group and headquartered in Kahnawake, but that company is no longer in business in the Canadian territory.

There is very little information about the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group available anywhere for the last decade. It is known that Bovada abandoned its Kahnawake license in 2011 due to issues with the gaming board and now runs its operations with a Curaçao eGaming license.

Honest Bovada Customer Reviews

You don’t just need to take our word that our Bovada casino review is independent and truthful. While compiling our Bovada review, we looked at what other players have enjoyed (or not) on trusted platforms such as AskGamblers and TrustPilot.

Here’s what site users who are not affiliated with either ourselves or Bovada have had to say about their experiences at this popular online casino site:

FAQ

Q. Where is Bovada Casino licensed?

A. Bovada Casino is licensed by Curaçao eGaming. While not recognized as a top-tier license provider like those found in the UK, Malta, and Gibraltar, there are plenty of online gambling sites that have Curaçao eGaming licenses, so you can rest assured that this is a legitimate site with a bona fide license.

Q. Is Bovada Casino legit?

A. Absolutely. Bovada is now an independent online casino and sportsbook in its own right, having originally been a casino-only offshoot of the poker and sports betting site Bodog. Bovada is a trusted casino site that’s been running for over a decade. It boasts a strong customer base of users who come back time and time again.

Q. How do payouts work at Bovada?

A. You can cash out winnings from Bovada whenever you make a winning bet. Withdraw cryptocurrency to a digital wallet or exchange or make an online bank transfer using your regular details.

Q. Does Bovada pay real money?

A. Yes, Bovada is a highly successful real money online casino and sports betting site with thousands of satisfied customers. All the games on the site are available to play for real money, which means you can also withdraw real cash prizes.

Q. Is this review of Bovada honest and unbiased?

A. Of course. We inspect every aspect of a site, and if we find any red flags, we always let you know. It’s all part of our integrity and desire to be the number one resource of reviews for online casino players.

Q. Who owns Bovada Casino?

A. The last known owner of Bovada is the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, but very little has been heard of this Canadian-based company over the past decade. We have to conclude that Bovada is still owned by MMGG, but we can’t guarantee this is true.