Unregulated Sports Betting Takes Another Hit As Arizona Axes Bovada
The saying “change happens slowly at first, and then all at once” lately could be referring to the unregulated sportsbook Bovada.
The Arizona Department of Gaming issued a news release Tuesday saying it had sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Curaçao-based Harp Media BV, which operates Bovada, and the company has added Arizona to its list of unavailable jurisdictions.
The Arizona sports betting market is the 17th US jurisdiction to force Bovada out. It is the 11th state to take action since late May.
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Arizona alleges Bovada is a felony criminal enterprise
According to the Dec. 3 statement, the ADG sent the letter on Nov. 8 following an investigation into what it believed was a felony criminal enterprise.
“We are actively monitoring the evolving landscape of online gaming and taking proactive steps like this helps us protect Arizona’s communities and economy from illegal activities,” said Jackie Johnson, the director of the ADG. “Our enforcement team is committed to preventing unauthorized operations from establishing a foothold here. Arizona will not be a safe haven for unlicensed or unlawful gaming, nor will we allow unlawful entities to compromise the integrity of gaming within our state.”
The statement added that Bovada was directed to immediately end all gambling operations and activities in Arizona and actively exclude residents from using its websites.
The ADG alleges Harp Media BV is in violation of three Arizona gambling laws:
- Promotion of gambling (felony)
- Illegal control of an enterprise (felony)
- Money laundering (felony)
17 jurisdictions (and counting) ban Bovada
Bovada has long operated as an unregulated sportsbook, facing little to no competition from US markets before 2020. That has changed as states have legalized sports betting and seen those markets grow and mature.
Earlier this summer, the dominos began to fall. Regulators took notice of black market sports betting and the accompanying missed tax revenue, which supports states and local communities. States began cracking down on Bovada, starting with Michigan on May 29.
Since then, 11 more jurisdictions have joined:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
Another five states had banned Bovada years ago:
- Players from Maryland were blocked in 2012, and their accounts were closed then.
- New players from Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey were blocked in 2014, and the site shuttered operations in those states in 2017.
- New York players were blocked in 2021.
Arizona sports betting regulator promotes safe betting
With the banning of Bovada, the ADG reminded Arizonans to stay vigilant in using only legal, regulated sportsbooks. Licensed Arizona sportsbooks offer a safe, secure option, whereas offsite betting poses additional privacy and security risks.
Bovada is one of the largest offshore online sportsbooks, but the market continues to usurp a significant US market share. The American Gaming Association estimated that Americans wagered nearly $64 billion at unregulated sportsbooks in 2022.
However, the momentum is shifting toward a larger regulated presence. According to Legal Sports Report, the AGA asked the US Department of Justice to help crack down on illegal sportsbooks in 2022, and several state legislators echoed the sentiment in 2023.
Five of the six largest regulated sports betting markets have now taken steps to remove Bovada, and roughly one-third of states have evicted it.
