Bovada Adds Nevada And Delaware To Online Poker Exclusion List

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Monday, June 23rd, 2014 | Written by Charles Washington

Following last month’s announcement that Bovada would no longer be accepting new players from the US state of New Jersey, the US-facing online poker room has now added the other two regulated states of Nevada and Delaware to its exclusion list. In total, the biggest online poker site in the United States, has restricted six states from registering on its site, the others being Washington, Maryland, and New York.

Players now blocked from Bovada

When a players attempts to sign up on Bovada from within Delaware, Nevada, or any of the other states already mentioned they are now greeted by a message reading:

“We are sorry. We do not accept registrations from your state. For more information please contact us.”

In addition, while Bovada said it would continue to allow existing players to gamble on its website, those customers will not be able to redeposit at Bovada once their funds have gone.

Bovada currently most popular poker room in US

The move by Bovada to gradually withdraw from these US markets follows the same pattern as the decisions made by Equity, Winning, and Merge networks earlier this year. In the meantime, Bovada continues to be the biggest US-friendly online poker room with a seven-day average of 1,350 players, followed a distant second by Merge with 425 players, Winning with 260 players, Chico with 260 players, and Equity with 160 players, according to tracking site PokerScout.

Reason for withdrawal

The reason the other poker networks decided to retreat from the USA’s nascent regulated online poker jurisdictions was to protect themselves from possible future litigation from authorities further on down the line. Bovada decided to follow suit in the US states of New York and Maryland after prosecutors there had previously seized bank accounts which had helped process payments for offshore sites, including Bovada’s forefather Bodog.

Bovada subsequently retreated from New Jersey at the end of last month after the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) sent out cease-and-desist letters to affiliates promoting offshore sites in state, including PokerSource.com, CardsChat.com, Pokersites.com, RakeBrain.com, and RaketheRake.com. As explained by casino.org at the time:

“With Bovada falling under that category, the major Internet operator may feel it’s best to protect its reputation, and not fall prey to the fate of companies like PokerStars which, though chomping at the bit to enter the legal and regulated US online market now, have so far been prevented from doing so in the three legal states due to its “bad actor” designation for post-Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) behavior.”

Those affiliate notices now appear to have had a ripple effect on Bovada’s attitude towards the other regulated US states, clearly prompting its exit from Nevada and Delaware. As more states seek online poker regulation the list of blocked states added to the company’s list of unlicensed operators will also likely grow.

Bovada still a bad actor

Bovada’s concession to exit these regulated markets represents a departure from the usually defiant and derisory stance it has taken vis-a-vis the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006. As commented upon by Kevin Horridge in casino.org:

“It’s certainly an about face from a company that has always dug in its heels in the face of anti-gambling legislation, stubbornly persisting in offering bets to Americans, despite federal legal threats and domain seizures.”

Nevertheless, in spite of its recent about-turn Boavada, as well as the other poker rooms and networks which continue to operate stateside, will still find themselves labelled “bad actor” by authorities and find their paths blocked in any future American regulated jurisdictions.

Alternatives for Nevada or Delaware players

With Bovada’s imminent departure from Nevada and Delaware, state residents will be assessing the alternatives available to them when playing poker online.

In Nevada one such alternative is the state’s most popular online poker site, WSOP.com, which is currently enjoying around 140 cash game players at any one time, rising to around 298 players during peak times. Nevada’s second biggest site, Ultimate Poker, however, has a seven-day average of just 60 players, and overall ex-Bovada customers will now have to get used to competing at sites whose traffic is a mere fraction of the 1,350 players Bovada currently enjoys.

The same situation also applies to New Jersey, where the Garden State’s busiest site, Party Borgata (NJ), currently has 150 cash game players over a seven-day average, as reported by PokerScout.