Bovada Appears to Comply With West Virginia Lottery Commission Cease-and-Desist

In June, the West Virginia Lottery Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to offshore online sportsbook and casino Bovada. Now, Bovada is beginning to restrict players in the state. This will most likely positively affect WV online casino revenue figures.

The cease-and-desist was sent to Harp Media B.V., the owner of Bovada, on June 26.  Bovada is a Costa Rica-based online sportsbook and casino, and before this letter, it had customers in 30 states. 

This came after the Michigan Gaming Control Board issued the same legal letter in May.

Like Michigan, West Virginia also gave Bovada 14 days to comply with their request. 

According to lottery director John Myers, Bovada has officially added West Virginia residents to its list of restricted states. 

That said, John Myers told SBC Americas via email that the terms and conditions haven’t reflected that yet. 

“However, their Terms and Conditions do not appear to have been updated to list West Virginia as of this writing,” he added in an email. “We understand that some accounts have been disabled and that a notice to contact customer service is being sent to account holders.”

With West Virginia added to the list, Bovada officially restricts players in Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, Colorado, and now, West Virginia. 

Connecticut also sent a cease-and-desist, and following West Virginia, Massachusetts is considering a ban on the offshore platform. 

West Virginia offers legal online sports betting and casino play, which Bovada also provides. It’ll be intriguing to see how this ban impacts West Virginia’s monthly online casino revenue.