Tennessee is the latest state to have asked Bovada to cease serving its residents, but unlike in previous cases, the offshore gambling operator has not been quick to comply. In response, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (SWC) announced it had fined the Curacao-based site $50,000 for operating without a license.
The regulator says it sent Bovada three cease-and-desist letters, one as recently as October 16. However, it has yet to receive a response. As a result, the SWC has fined the operator $10,000 for the first offense, $15,000 for the second, and $25,000 for the third.
SWC warns any subsequent violations will result in a $25,000 fine per occurrence. In a statement, SWC Executive Director Mary Beth Thomas emphasized the council’s commitment to user protection:
The Sports Wagering Council recommends that Tennessee users of Bovada withdraw their funds immediately. Our primary role is the protection of the public interest through a safe, regulated environment, and Tennessee sports bettors need to know that just because they can access a sports betting website or app inside Tennessee’s borders does not mean it is licensed to do business here.
According to SWC, Tennessee is the largest online-only sports betting market in the US, with $4.7 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year.
Bovada Has Complied With Previous C&Ds
While illegal in the US, Bovada operated in most states until May. The exceptions were Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York.
However, then the Michigan Gaming Control Board sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada in late May and threatened legal action. If Bovada refused to comply, the regulator threatened to go after its suppliers. While it didn’t respond, Bovada voluntarily exited Michigan a few weeks later.
The exit triggered similar actions by several other states. Although it did not respond to any of the cease-and-desist letters, Bovada complied and exited each state that threatened legal action.
Since leaving Michigan, the list of jurisdictions where Bovada is unavailable has grown to 15, including Pennsylvania, the largest iGaming state by revenue. With Massachusetts recently added, Bovada now blocks players from these jurisdictions:
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Has Bovada Changed Its Posture on Compliance?
While it has complied with regulators’ legal threats so far, Bovada has not banned players from Tennessee yet.
Despite receiving three cease-and-desist letters from SWC, the state is listed as a legal jurisdiction. This raises the question: could Bovada stop complying with legal threats from US regulators?
In recent exits, the operator has taken about three weeks to leave a market after receiving cease-and-desist letters.
For example, after the Massachusetts Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist on October 3, Bovada stopped accepting Massachusetts players by October 22. It followed a similar timeline in Pennsylvania. Bovada stopped accepting players from the state on September 17, approximately three weeks after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board told Bonus it’s a regulator but not a law enforcer. However, later, it confirmed that its Office of Enforcement Council had sent a letter at the end of August.
While the timeline of SWC’s three letters is unknown, the most recent one was issued on October 16, about two weeks from the time of writing.
As Tennessee is a large market, it remains to be seen whether Bovada will continue to comply. Contrary, it could decide to go rogue by continuing to operate and send a message to future states looking to issue cease-and-desist threats.
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