Reputation: 5/5
- Bovada is the American subsidiary of Bodog.eu. This means that they have a rock solid pedigree and are major players in the sportsbook business.
- While Bovada was founded in 2011, Bodog has been around since 2000 and therefore Bovada has reliability and ‘time in the business.' This kind of time in the business indicates that our money is safe with them.
Personalization: 4.4/5
- Bovada is available to Americans. With so few established and reputable books to choose from, to find one that accommodates American accounts, is a very big deal.
- Bovada doesn't allow international accounts, it's for Americans only.
- If you're just into casual gambling, then Bovada is a great book to choose from. They've got a wide variety of selections and the site is fun to navigate.
- The site's sportsbook offers what we call “commercial juice” so professional handicappers may want to shop for better odds; nonetheless, the book is completely suitable for amateurs and professionals alike.
Bonuses/Promotions 5/5:
- Bovada offers a 50% welcome bonus (up to $250).
- Fun contests like “Bowlopoly” and “Bowl Pick-Em”.
- Refer a friend program.
- Blackjack Weekends and far, far, more.
Variety 5/5:
- This site allows for teasers and parlays and most other betting formats associated with sports-betting.
- Bovada scores full marks for variety. They have a Sportsbook, a Racebook, they have a Pokerroom and they have an on-line casino as well.
- We were actually amazed to find a sportsbook on Cricket and Motor Sports.
- They have an excellent section on Entertainment prop bets. from celebrity, to film, to political, Bovada has an excellent selection for these fun kinds of wagers.
Site Layout 5/5:
- The site is laid-out with organization and visual appeal working hand-in-hand.
- The site is easy to navigate and everything is straight-forward.
- We noticed that pages loaded very fast.
Sign-Up Simplicity 4.6/5:
- Sign-up options include: Pre-paid Visa, MyPayLinq, Money Transfer via Western Union, Rapid Transfer via MoneyGram, and Check.
- While we found the sign-up options a little bit limited we also found that some of the options were taking a high percentage of the total in transfer fees.
- We found the 6% to 15% transfer fees outrageous, but we do this everyday. For the casual gamer, this shouldn't pose a huge issue.
Pay-Out Simplicity 4.7/5:
- Bovada's pay-outs have been under close scrutiny since 2012; but, this works in our favor. We found hundreds of positive reports reporting that Bovada is doing an excellent job paying out their customers and they are boasted as the #1 poker site in America in 2014.
- The cheapest withdrawal option is to have Bovada send a check. We found this less than convenient for frequent gamblers. All other withdrawal options involved transfer fees.
Customer Service 4.9/5:
- We noticed that while Bovada has a help center, it's not live.
- Reports about Bovada's customer service are very good on the whole.
Mobile/Accessibility 5/5:
- Bovada offers convenient Mobile betting.
Overall Impression 5/5:
Our overall impression is very good. The reliability and reputation is excellent and that goes a very long way and says a lot. They offer commercial juice making the sportsbook suitable for casual gamers betting the big game, but not necessarily for people who bet daily. Bovada accounts get raked when depositing or withdrawing. Transfer fees are brutal and there are not a lot of alternatives, but you get your money when you ask for it. Bovada is 110% trustworthy and therefore one of the better alternatives for U.S. gamblers.
Total Score: 48.6/50
