The Wiz's Recommended Casino

Last Update: Apr 2, 2013

• Why Bovada?
• Bovada's Bonuses
• Bovada's Casino Games
• Bovada's Online Poker
• More about Bovada and caveats

Why Bovada?

Since 2005 I have had only one advertiser on the entire site, and I'm proud to say that advertiser is Bovada Online Casino, whom I personally and exclusively endorse because:

• Safe and fun place to play: they won't take your money and run
• Offer a large variety of gambling options: sports, poker, and casino games
• One account for all games: You can play all three ways on the same account
• Superior customer support and service: 24/7/365 telephone and e-mail support, you will get an answer right away, with highly competent and knowledgeable staff

My readers are my first priority, and I want you to have a good experience when you wager online. I'm so confident that you'll have a good experience with Bovada that if you have a problem getting paid and you can't resolve it with them on your own, I'll help to mediate the dispute.

Visit Bovada today to to join and start playing

Bovada's Bonuses

Bovada offers its players up to $4,250 in welcome bonuses (applies to play in the casino, sportsbook, or poker rooms).

Bonuses and Playthrough Requirements:

• Casino: Get up to $3000 in Match Bonuses in the casino
• Sportsbook: Get a 50% free bet up to $250 instantly on your initial deposit
• Poker: 100% bonus up to $1000. As you earn poker points in the first 60 days, the poker bonus is released as shown in the table below:
  

  Level	Poker Points	Bonus Issued	Total Bonuses
  1	50	$10	$10
  2	250	$40	$50
  3	750	$100	$150
  4	1,500	$150	$300
  5	3,000	$300	$600
  6	5,000	$400	$1,000

Bonus Exceptions: While the bonus applies to pretty much everything at Bovada, there are a few casino games that don't count towards the playthrough requirements:

• Slots Casino Match Bonus: Only play on Slot games counts towards meeting playthrough requirements for withdrawal.
• Table Games Casino Match Bonus: Any play in Single and Double Deck Blackjack, Baccarat, Sic Bo, Craps, Roulette, and Blackjack in the poker software does not count towards meeting rollover requirements for withdrawal.

My first deposit experience: In August 2004 I deposited $5,000 and the bonus was added to my account immediately. Since then I cashed out some of it (I was paid quickly) and am still betting on sports with the rest.

Bovada's Casino Games

Bovada offers over 100 casino games. Most of these you can play for free with no downloads (browser-based) and no registration required. These are great to practice your strategy or to just become familiar with the game.

Bovada is one of the few casinos that understands that the player needs to enjoy themselves while playing. In my opinion, the odds at Bovada aren't that bad. They offer generous odds so that you can play longer, which gives you a better chance of winning. Kudos to Bovada for not being afraid to give their players a good gamble! In my experience, many online casinos are too stingy when setting the odds on their games. They think they'll make more money this way, but I believe they are misguided because when players lose too quickly, they stop having fun, leave, and don't come back.

Here are some examples of the odds I've experienced at Bovada:

• Pick 'em Poker returning 99.95% (my personal favorite)
• Full-Pay Jacks or Better, returning 99.54%
• Six other video poker games returning over 99%
• Single-zero roulette
• Two blackjack variants with a house edge under 0.2%

Visit Bovada to check out the odds for yourself, or check out my review of the casino games at Bovada.

Bovada's Online Poker

Bovada uses its own poker software which has been widely hailed as excellent. It has a great interface, slick graphics and is really easy to use. The best thing is, they have a weekly $100,000 poker tournament (yes, that's $100K EVERY WEEK). They are continuously working to improve the software and add new features, and here are some of what's currently available:

• Fully customizable - you can have your own avatar, change table colors, card backs
• Resizable - you can resize the tables (great if you are playing multiple games and want them all on one screen), view in full screen (high resolution), and detach chat and game details (stats, notes, profiles, tourney info)
• Mac compatible software
• Multiple language support - English, Spanish or Chinese
• Rabbit Cam - allows you to see what the next card dealt would have been after a hand completes.
• Play more games & tournaments - you can play up to 20 tournaments (that's 20 tables) simultaneously
• In-Client Blackjack - great if a game is going slowly, you can play some blackjack while you wait using your poker account balance.

Visit Bovada Poker to download the software, or check out my page on Texas Hold 'em Poker.

More about Bovada and Caveats

Check the terms. Before you play at Bovada or any other online casino, please carefully read the terms and conditions of the bonus offers as printed at their website. I make no promises that the terms I list above are current accurate. If you find my summary is incorrect, please let me know.

Payout verification. You should know that if you win money at an online casino and make a withdrawal you may be asked to supply verification of your identity. This usually constitutes a photocopy or scan of picture identification (usually a state ID or driver's license) and a utility bill or bank statement. The reason for this is some players have abused promotions by playing them multiple times under false names. This is a reasonable request on the part of the casino. If you're not willing to supply the documents, then you shouldn't wager online.

Want to learn more about Bovada? Check out these facts, articles and some fun pictures:

Bodog North America changes name to Bovada — In December 2011, Bodog rebranded to become known as Bovada in North America. Still the same staff, games and servers, just a new name.

• GPWA Interview with Alwyn Morris — CEO of Morris Mohawk Gaming, which runs the Bovada operation in North America.
• 2009 article about Calvin Ayre — the billionaire who founded Bodog