Sports bettors will find a wealth of action at Bovada. The unique Bovada name is a combination of two of the world’s most respected entities in gambling: Bodog (‘Bo”), which is synonymous with online bookmaking, and Las Vegas (“vada”), which is the gambling mecca of the United States. Created by Bodog, Bovada is designed to be used specifically by Americans, so membership is exclusively limited to those in the U.S.
The Bovada site includes plenty of betting opportunities, as it features sports, casino games, and the horses as well as poker. Easy to navigate, cleanly and clearly illustrated, Bovada offers serious sports bettors a wealth of opportunities, as it includes live betting, mobile access, and a range of bonuses and awards.
The site’s betting slips are easy to read and use. Bovada offers very clear choices for each game, and they make parlay, round robin, if bet, reverse and teaser wagering very simple to understand and utilize. This site is designed so that you are usually one click away from what you want. If you are into betting on U.S. sports, as well as leagues and events around the world, then Bovada certainly has you covered.
Sports Offered
If you simply want to wager on the major sports in the U.S., every MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL game is there for you. College football and basketball is also available. However, if you don’t want to limit yourself to U.S. leagues, you’ll find ample opportunity to expand your sports betting repertoire.
Along with the NFL and college, football betting includes the Canadian Football League and Arena Football. Hockey is huge, as the site offers AHL, European, and International play, as well as the NHL. Also, basketball betting is nonstop, as you can wager on the WNBA, Euroleague, and what is known as ROW (Rest of the World) basketball matchups. You can even bet on professional baseball in Japan.
Of course, if you want to expand your sports betting to other leagues and other parts of the world, you’re going to need to become knowledgeable about those sports, leagues, and players. Too many gamblers will go to an active sportsbook such as Bovada and begin betting on sports and games about which they know little or nothing. It’s not long before they have crippled or even lost their entire bankroll. So be warned: Do your research before putting cash down on any sporting event.
When it comes to soccer, the World Cup is a featured event on Bovada. The sportsbook also carries a huge number of leagues and games. Bovada’s soccer listings include all major leagues and championships, such as English Premier League, English Championship, Argentina Primera Division, Brazil – Serie A, France – Ligue 1, Germany – Bundesliga 1, Italy – Serie A, Mexico Primera Division, Spain – La Liga, Turkey – Super Lig, and USA – MLS. There are many more soccer leagues available, including those in Sweden, Finland, and Russia. This sport can be a great one for U.S. bettors to wager as long as they are willing to study the game.
Also, motor sports are plentiful and include NASCAR, Indy, and Formula 1. Boxing, UFC/MMA, and wrestling are easily accessed, as is golf and tennis. If you love rugby, you’ll discover a wide range of offerings featuring those teams and leagues associated with Rugby Union and Rugby League play. Other sports offered by Bovada include cricket, snooker, darts, cycling, and Gaelic games.
There’s no end to the action on Bovada, which offers not only thousands of games but countless bet types as well.
Types of Bets
You will find your standard wagers at Bovada, including money line, point spread, and totals. Not every sport will be offered as both a money line wager and spread bet. For hockey, they provide puck line and money line odds, as well as totals. Baseball includes run line, money line, and totals.
Other available bets are parlays, round robins, if bets, reverse bets, and teasers. Bovada offers parlays that cover from two to 12 bets. In a parlay, you can combine up to 12 bets on one ticket; you must win all games to cash. The round robin ticket at Bovada can be comprised of three to eight selections. You may combine them into parlays that you designate. Each parlay must contain from two to six selections.
If bets and reverse wagers allow you to make two selections. With an if bet, there is no continuing action unless your first selection wins, and with the reverse wager both games are covered. With this system, you can lose the first bet but win the second and still win cash. Both types of wagering opportunities offer reduced payouts when compared to a standard two-team parlay.
Bovada provides teasers on basketball or football games. You can combine from two to 10 selections, apply the teaser (a point spread adjusted in your favor), and if you win every bet, you’ll get a payout. Payouts for teasers are greatly reduced in comparison to standard parlays, as the teaser reduces the amount of risk the sports bettor is taking.
Futures, props, and other exotics are also ready and waiting for you. Predict who will win the division crowns in MLB, the Super Bowl winner, and the team that will take the Stanley Cup. Futures are posted on the site just after the playoffs of a particular sport have ended.
Bovada also provides sports bettors with daily live action on many sports, including but not limited to soccer, baseball, basketball, and hockey. The amount of action varies from sport to sport. If you like changing odds, wagering on the ebb and flow of a game, and playing hunches, you may find live betting a lot of fun.
Bonuses, VIP, Special Offers
There are always numerous bonuses and special offers at Bovada. The current first deposit offer is a 50% welcome bonus – simply make your first deposit and receive a 50% bonus. It is worth up to $250, so you’ll need to deposit $500 to receive the full amount. You will also receive a free bet worth the amount of your award.
Two special offers presently running give you a good idea of the rewards at Bovada. One is called Major League Bingo and the other is the Refer-a-Friend Bonus. Both give members extra cash that they can use.
With Major League Bingo, you can win up to $150 in bonuses. To play, you make the minimum required bet on the featured MLB game of the day. When you wager, you’ll be able to fill in numbers on your bingo card. As you complete a line on your bingo card, you’ll get a bonus. If you make the total number of bets required and complete your card, you’ll get an extra bonus.
To take advantage of their Refer-a-Friend Bonus, you’ll first need to get a personal referral code from the site. You then give the code to your friends. When they sign up with your code, you get an instant bonus of $100. There’s no limit on the number of friends you can get to sign up and the bonuses you can receive.
When a friend signs up, they are eligible for up to $4,250 in Bovada Welcome Bonuses. When they become a member of Bovada, they will have access to the site’s sportsbook, casino, and poker room.
There are many other bonuses associated with Bovada’s site, including those that you can collect when playing poker, betting on casino games, and wagering on horseracing.
Banking
Deposits at Bovada are handled by using certain types of Visa cards such as those used for international and online purchases, or by utilizing wire transfer and rapid transfer services such as those provided by Western Union and MoneyGram. Deposits are credited very quickly (within 30 minutes.).
Withdrawals may be handled in various ways. You may receive a check by courier or get cash deposited directly into your bank account. Both of these come with one free withdrawal per month. Wire and rapid transfer withdrawals are also available, and both carry fees depending on the amount you are withdrawing.
It’s easy to use Bovada’s 24/7 customer service 800-number to make deposits or withdrawals, or you can make them online.
Customer Service
The customer service personnel are well-trained and very helpful at ensuring that your needs are addressed. There is little to no waiting for help at Bovada, and the people who work for the online sportsbook are always interested in making sure that customer needs are totally fulfilled. They address any and all problems quickly and efficiently.
The site also has a blog that offers up-to-date articles on the latest major sporting events such as the World Cup, the NBA playoffs, and the Stanley Cup.
Other Things to Know
Bovada also offers wagering on entertainment props, including betting on who will win American Idol, The Voice, and 24 Live Another Day, as well as other types of wagers. Celebrity, business, and political bets are available.
Of course, when you join Bovada as a sports bettor you will also have access to the other areas of the site such as horseracing, casino games, and poker tables. Each section offers bettors, players, and gamblers a lot of great opportunities to enjoy the gaming fun that they love.
Our Verdict
The sportsbook at Bovada is premium in every way. Easy to navigate, simple to understand, and rich with sports betting opportunities, it is a welcoming place. Plus, there are plenty of ways to earn extra cash.
Make sure you read through the various promotions prior to becoming a member, and definitely take advantage of their Refer-a-Friend Bonus, which has unlimited benefits. Many sites will drastically limit the number of times a member can benefit from a promotion such as this.
If you are new to sports betting, you’ll like the way that Bovada concisely explains different types of wagers with simple popup windows. Live betting opportunities are plentiful for those who enjoy wagering in the heat of the moment. If you are a serious sports bettor with a wide range of knowledge and a deep understanding of sports and the sports betting scene, then you’ll find yourself well served by Bovada. Bovada has a huge amount to offer casual players as well as those who make their living by the spread, line, and totals.
This is by far the best run and most complete sportsbook on the internet. If you’re going to join one sportsbook, Bovada is the one.