Bovada Casino Review

It certainly leaves a lasting impression that it’s one of those casinos that treat new players with colossal welcome bonuses. Well, your “Spidey sense” is right. Bovada Casino is prepared to match your first 3 deposits up to $1,000, which makes it $3,000 in bonus money. Alternatively, if you’re a Bitcoin casino player, refer to the Bitcoin bonus for new players. You will need a bonus code to claim these bonuses. Here are the details:

The bonus offer hasn’t changed since February 2017, so don’t expect any changes in the foreseeable future. You can use the provided bonus code up to 3 times.

Looking inside, the bonus terms of the welcome package are not that bad. Players need to wager the sum of the deposit and the bonus amount 25 times before any withdrawals can be made. This is by 20% lower than what RTG online casinos mandate. In addition, Bovada has some lenient bonus terms which allow table players to enjoy the benefits of bonus money. Here’s a list of the games that contribute towards the completion of wagering requirements:

• Slots, Specialty Games (all types) – 100%
• Table Games (unless stated otherwise) – 20%
• Video Poker (all types) & Blackjack (unless stated otherwise) – 10%
• Single Deck & Double Deck Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat – 5%
• Craps & Live Dealer (all types) – 0%

We couldn’t find any term which limits players from withdrawing the full amount of their winnings. In other words, there’s no word of any maximum cashout limit. Now, this isn’t detrimental, but it does raise some concern, regarding the player experience once he/she gets closer to completing the associated requirements.

From what we can see at Bovada Casino as new players, there aren’t tons of promotions and bonus for existing players. Needless to say, this just might be their policy, to keep the existing player bonuses and bonus codes secret, until players become eligible for them. Nevertheless, there’s the Refer-a-friend bonus which can bring you up to $100 every time you bring someone over at Bovada, be that your friend, family and so on.

Then again, you shouldn’t worry, because there’s the Bovada Rewards tab, which holds the details for the loyalty and rewards scheme. You will be enrolled in the program just by playing at Bovada.

The bottom line is, players get their share of bonus deals and promos, just not from the promotions section. Expect to receive bonus offers via email as part of the newsletter, which we recommend to subscribe to.

All that glitters is not gold, is a well-known saying, and as much as we hate saying it now, we have to. It applies to Bovada Casino. For starters, the casino does not have any kind of license. In other words, it’s not regulated by any authority. Even if there was one, it sure isn’t the UKGC, the MGA or the NJ DGE. Heck, in this situation we’d love to see the Curacao license at the very least. You have been warned!

It is among the few online casino that openly invites US casino players to join and enjoy their full casino game library. The minimum age limit at Bovada is 18, which is kind of odd since the casino markets its games to the US public, where the minimum age is 21. Another strange thing is the Gamblers Anonymous seal. Sure, the casino holds no license, but it appears to have the will to keep its players safe, modestly promoting responsible gambling. Checking out the Responsible Gambling page, we found links to Gambling Therapy and NCP Gambling. It’s not of great importance, but it’s worth mentioning them. These have no authority over Bovada Casino whatsoever.

As far as the games go, they’re fine, but we have to admit, we’re kind of worried about the integrity of the casino. It’s obvious that the basis for these concerns arise because the casino holds no license certificate. Ergo, we have to warn you to play with caution.

Not having a license has a hefty price tag. Even a Curacao one would be of great help in this situation. For example, it’s one of the reasons why Bovada accepts only a few payment options. You can deposit and play with credit cards and Bitcoin. The rise of the cryptocurrency put it back on the radar of many new online casino players who liked to enjoy gaming while the BTC was at a record high level. Besides credit/debit cards and Bitcoin, Bovada Casino accepts no other payment methods. If, the casino manages to obtain a license in the future, we expect to see e-wallets and online banking payment providers.

In the past, the payment options were more diverse. To make matters worse, players can withdraw in Bitcoin and via check by courier. Once again, bank transfers were not possible at the time of writing of this review. We’re stunned by how this casino has managed to stay online for so long. Although we’re not 100% sure, we have a hunch that the reason for its “survival” is the rise and exponential expansion of the Bitcoin. Our recommendation, if you can, please deposit, play and withdraw in Bitcoin.

Players who choose to deposit with VISA/MasterCard cards can deposit between $20 and $1,500 per transaction. If there are any limits that you’ve set up, then they will apply as well, but only if they’re lower than the aforementioned Bovada Casino limits.

Bitcoin casino players can make heftier deposits, and they’re entirely fee free! Although Bovada Casino does not charge any fees directly, your bank will charge you an international transaction fee, and if applicable, a currency conversion fee, if you do not deposit in USD. Overall, the fees can reach as much as 10% of the deposit amount once you add up the currency conversion, the international transfer and any service fees the bank can charge you.

Also, it's worth noting that the first deposit made with a credit card is free of charge, whereas subsequent deposits are subject to the aforementioned charges.

Withdrawing is more difficult than most of you expect. Besides there not being enough withdrawal options, players must adhere to the limits, which look like this.

Bovada will cover the fees for the first NON-BITCOIN withdrawal in every 90 days. Any subsequent withdrawals within a given period, carry a $100 fee. Bitcoin withdrawals are free of charge. We tried to find something like a monthly or a weekly limit, but as it seems, there is none. To be honest, we have to salute the one free withdrawal per 90 days. On the other hand, players who are playing in a FIAT currency have to withdraw at least $100, which is an extremely high minimum withdrawal threshold. We can already see how some players are stuck in that limbo zone, where they have to spend the remainder of the money just because they can’t withdraw.

Players with a “weak stomach” might want to check the similar casinos listed below this Bovada Casino review.

Bovada is at the top of the “food-chain” in the US because it has one of the best unauthorized casino game offers. We’re not saying the games are not fair, but yes, the operations are not monitored. Looking the casino game library at face value, it has everything it takes to keep players entertained for hours on end. Rival, RTG and Betsoft Gaming are the backbone of Bovada Casino, but Spinomeal and Revolver Gaming are getting a strong foothold as well. No casino studio is favored at Bovada, meaning they are treated equally. From the slots collection, we’d like to point out Rival’s i-Slots and Betosft Gaming’s Progressive slots. Players who are not fascinated by the RTPs of slots can check out the Table Games and the Video Poker tabs. Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, a number of different Poker games and Craps are put on display. Moreover, there more than half a dozen of different video poker games, and just as many variations of them.

We were excited about the Specialty Games tab, and we kind of ended up with mixed feelings about it. It holds the Keno games, and games the likes of Penguin Payday, Beach Bums, Cast for Cash and Bingo Cataratas. There are a dozen of Bingo games to choose from, though we’re pretty sure most players not at Bovada because of bingo.

Lastly, all games are available for instant play. Although RTG’s games look better when downloaded, Bovada Casino has moved away from this approach, and offers all RTG games for instant play.

It may not have a license, but the Bovada Casino mobile app sure looks great! The best part, you don’t have to download the app. Although we’d like to see a native app for Bovada Casino at the App Store or the Play Store, instant play has become more convenient than ever in the past. Just tap on the main menu at the top left corner of the screen, and tap on Casino. The most popular games are listed at the top. You can slide left and right if you want to check them out. If you want to filter the games by their respective game category, tap on the yellow Casino bar, which will show you all game categories, like Specialty Games, Slots, Live Dealer, Table Games and so on.

The best part, the Live Dealer Casino games are available for mobile play. Now, this is the area which sparks interest in the majority of online casino players, but there are a few things which you should know before you place your first live dealer wager at Bovada Casino. More about that in the next section.

In general, we’re very much pleased with how the Bovada web app looks and how it performs.

First, we’d like to share our opinion on the offer, the games, the dealers and their approach, and then we’re going to share a peculiar “incident” which took place in a similar online casino. The casino games that can be found in the live casino lobby at Bovada Casino are as follows:

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

In case you’re wondering, yes, you can choose between Live Dealer European Roulette and Live Dealer American Roulette. Only inexperienced players will take a seat at the Live Dealer American Roulette in our opinion. The streams are not open for for the “public”, by this we mean, you have to register and make a deposit before you’re allowed access to any of the live casino tables. The dealers have obviously gone through the necessary training, and they’re well familiar with how the games work. From that standpoint, they’re all OK. What we don’t like about the Bovada Live Casino games is that they don’t earn players any Loyalty Points. As you will see in the VIP section below, this is a huge blow for avid live dealer table game players.

Note, we have no idea why would they put on display the dealers’ interests and hobbies. Sure, it’s not even remotely related to the quality of service or the player’s experience. Maybe it’s better to have their live dealer games monitored by a 3^rd party to guarantee players get the service they expect in the first place.

Now, many of you will remember an incident which took place at BetOnline at one of their Live Blackjack tables. Well, this is Bovada Casino, it’s not BetOnline. The provider of the live blackjack is history. BetOnline has since then hired the services of Visioniary iGaming.

Bovada Casino has an extensive VIP program that should be taken seriously. It sure is not the most reliable online casino on the internet, but it sure knows how to reward its t loyal players. Below you can find the top 3 tiers, out of all 5 ones, along with the important details you should know about. Cashbacks and loyalty points are available to all VIP players, regardless of which VIP tier they belong to.

First and foremost, not all casino games bring you the same amount of loyalty points. Playing slots and table games is the least effective, yet the most efficient way of earning VIP points at Bovada Casino. Just to be sure that you understand what the conversion rates are, here are the details in full.

Note, live dealer games will not earn you loyalty points. It’s strange, considering how most of the VIP players are into Live Dealer Table Games. This is a tough blow for the most passionate casino players who are into Blackjack and Roulette for instance. Sure, there are ardent slot players, but the high rollers are usually into live blackjack and/or live roulette.

As part of the evaluation process, we always test the live chat response time. We can confidently say that we’re very much satisfied by the response time we got from the customer service team at Bovada Casino. However, the answers were AUTOMATED. Basically, they’re scripted. It’ll take some time before a REAL person is connected to you. Ergo, we can’t give them top marks. We can’t even give them a PASS mark. It’s not called LIVE chat for nothing. Additionally, the customer agent failed to provide basic information. He refused to provide the information on the grounds of company policy. Just to be clear, we had a few questions regarding the live casino games, what is the company which provides them and whether they’re tested.

• Phone Number: 1-888-263-0000
• Email address: [email protected] or Contact Web Form
• Live Chat: Yes, 24/7

It’s a distinctive online casino, with an expected target audience. The US online casino players have sought casino thrills at Bovada since 1995. However, since its initial launch, a lot of things have changed. For starters, at the moment of writing of this Bovada Casino review, gaming was illegal on a federal level, with New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada having different policies.

Without doubt, the US is a core market for Bovada Casino, but we are pretty sure it’s attracted attention in Australia following the ban on gaming. Operating without a license  sure has its advantages. Then again, it has to market its products based on the community’s trust, which is not as easy as it sounds. “Selling” online casino games without a license, without monitoring is extremely difficult, but not impossible.

In short, Bovada Casino is open to players from all around the world. From Australia, across Asia and Europe, all the way to the USA and Canada.

Some online casino players have an entire pool of online casinos to choose from. Then, there are those which have to make careful, informed decision where to play next. Bovada Casino, although infamous amongst a significant chunk of the player base, it’s still is a viable option. Especially if you’re from the USA, Australia or any other region where access to online casinos is restricted. To reiterate, like we already stated in our Bovada Casino review, it has no active license with any online gaming regulatory body, ergo, play with caution! On the other hand, there’s a $3,000 welcome bonus package on display!