Bovada Will No Longer Offer Online Poker Games In New York

Bovada will no longer be serving customers based in New York. The operator notified its NY players via email that it’s pulling out of the state’s online gambling market effective June 21, citing “newly introduced regulation” as its main reason for leaving. Bovada is likely to advise its NY online poker players to consider migrating to Ignition.

For the time being, Bovada’s NY customers may still use the remaining funds in their existing accounts, but they will no longer be allowed to make new deposits or place bets on the specified date.

Bovada’s decision comes after Governor Andrew Cuomo approved budget legislation for the 2022 fiscal year, paving the way for regulated sports betting in the state. Cuomo signed the bill on April 19, and a Request for Proposal (RFP) process is ongoing.

The state will spend the second half of the year going through the bids, which means it will most likely launch its regulated sports betting market in early 2022, as hinted by state Senator Joseph Addabbo. The online gambling advocate said the Empire State could legally accept sports bets just in time for February’s 2022 Super Bowl.

What’s Next for Bovada?

This isn’t the first time that Bovada is pulling out of US states with regulated online gambling markets. The operator did the same thing several years ago, when it also withdrew from New Jersey, Nevada, Maryland and Delaware.

Bovada has been illegally accepting wagers from US-based gamblers over the years, but has also been voluntarily withdrawing from states where online gambling is legal to save itself from some serious legal consequences.

Bovada was established in 2011 as part of the famous Bodog brand. Apart from sports betting, the operator also offers online casino gambling and online poker. It runs its online poker services under the PaiWangLuo Network (formerly the Bodog Poker Network). The Network is among the largest in the world in terms of online poker cash game traffic, based on figures from online poker traffic tracking site PokerScout.

Upon leaving New York, Bovada will also be terminating all of its services there, including online poker, but NY players might still be able to continue playing at Bovada’s sister skin Ignition Casino.

Ignition Casino has yet to announce plans of leaving the NY market, but its offerings are only limited to online poker, online casino games, and fantasy sports contests. It does not offer sports betting.