Bovada sends cease-and-desist letter to Bovada

The Arizona Department of Gaming announced earlier this week that it had served a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada, a prominent Curaçao-based online gambling website, demanding that the company behind the brand and its localized and international domains, Harp Media B.V., withdraw its offer from the local market.

Bovada asked to leave Arizona as the latest US market

The Department of Gaming said that Bovada had been served with the letter on November 8, 2024, and it specifically named Bovada.lv and Bovada.com, arguing that they were accessible to Arizona residents, even though the websites themselves did not own a license to operate legally in the country.

The regulator has further outlined three laws that it believed Harp Media B.V. to be breaking vis-à-vis its gambling offering, specifically:

• Promotion of Gambling (Felony) -- Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-3303.
• Illegal Control of an Enterprise (Felony) -- Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-2312.
• Money Laundering (Felony) -- Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-2317.

Harp Media B.V. has been urged to take all necessary measures to restrict the access of Arizona residents to the website and its domains. Regulator Director Jackie Johnson said that the watchdog was actively monitoring what was described as the "evolving landscape" of online gaming, and was well aware of those companies operating without a license.

"Our enforcement team is committed to preventing unauthorized operations from establishing a foothold here. Arizona will not be a safe haven for unlicensed or unlawful gaming, nor will we allow unlawful entities to compromise the integrity of gaming within our state," Johnson added.

Although companies such as BetOnline and Bovada seemed fairly insulated when PASPA was first overturned in 2018, subsequent years quickly revealed that regulators and industry types would fight tooth and nail to ensure maximum channelization into the regulated gambling market.

Bovada faces pressure on multiple fronts in the US

Yet, most offshore brands have only recently been named by states. Bovada, for example, has quit Ohio, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and other states, all of which have acted specifically against the brand after their regulators found out that the site was offering its products without a local license.

With 40-plus states in the US regulating their sports gambling industry, more similar enforcement actions will be coming before long.

Regulators have also become better at exchanging information and best practices, meaning that – in theory – the days of offshore gambling sites in the country are numbered. You may bet on it.

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