Bovada exits Pennsylvania, two other states

Bovada, one of the best-known offshore gambling brands in the United States, has been asked to leave yet more jurisdictions in the country, in what is proving to be a concentrated effort by states that have legalized their sports betting, iGaming, or both.

Bovada takes its leave from three more states

Bovada is now out of three additional states, with the website asked to leave Kansas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, bringing the total number of restricted jurisdictions within the US to 14 - 13 states and Washington D.C. This significantly shrinks the company’s scope of operations in the country, especially if more similar moves are in the works.

Bovada is likely to face more similar challenges from other states as well in the coming months as the company’s status as an "illegal gambling company" has nettled lawmakers and regulators, all of whom have been exchanging know-how on how to deal with the offshore sector.

For its part, Bovada has grown increasingly respective of state orders to leave their borders, with the website quickly adding the states as restricted jurisdictions. However, the website has refused to issue any public statements acknowledging the requests.

Previously this year, the website was asked to move out of Ohio, Connecticut, and Michigan, just in the space of several months.

A firmer response from regulators on the offshore market has long been coming, but the deftness of the most recent moves against a prominent website has surprised many observers. Most of these ejections have followed a similar pattern.

State regulators would send a company a cease-and-desist letter and usually set a two-week period during which an operator had to comply.

Bovada does not publicly acknowledge regulatory action, but acts nonetheless

Aware of the ever-growing scrutiny of its operations, Bovada would shuffle the right pieces into place and make sure that consumers are aware that it would no longer be accepting their wagers if they reside in a state that has just been blacklisted.

The three states moving against Bovada right now have been preparing their paperwork during the summer and reaping the fruit of their labor only recently.

Despite these enforcement actions, the American Gaming Association, an industry trade body, believes that Americans are still betting roughly $500bn on illegal gambling websites and with illegal land-based operators.

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