Telling Only Bovada To Cease And Desist Doesn't Go Far Enough
There has been considerable action on the offshore gambling front in the past month, with Bovada being asked by regulators to cease and desist in several states.
That’s progress in the battle against illegal online gambling in the United States. But if a state thinks offshore gambling is a problem, it shouldn’t be flying a “Mission Accomplished” banner if and when Bovada departs. What they’ve done is taken the first step in an unending game of hide-and-seek involving a variety of offshore operators.
Closing Line Consulting
Need help with gambling content, communications/PR, or research and analysis? I’m starting a consultancy to help companies in the gaming industry and beyond. Reach out if you want to have a conversation. Learn more about CLC here.
Michigan set off the recent wave of activity by nicely asking Bovada to stop letting bettors in Michigan gamble there. It worked! But let’s look at what an offshore gambling affiliate says about where you can bet on sports in Michigan.
This site, SportsGeek, gives you five options of where to bet, and none of them are legal or regulated in Michigan. So, that’s a lot of offshore sportsbooks that appear to take bettors from Michigan still!
The same goes for online casinos. For instance, here’s an affiliate telling you to play at Ignition (as well as other illegally operating casinos) in Michigan:
As of today, Ignition only blocks these states, per an FAQ on its site: Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and New York. Ignition is just one of many offshore online casinos that serve most of the U.S.
Other online sportsbooks and casinos may start looking at these C&Ds to Bovada as a reason for them to exit a state as well. But that’s no guarantee as we sit here.
Action against Bovada is just the tip of the iceberg. You can't stop there if you want to impact the offshore industry meaningfully.
The next step is more C&Ds, and see what the reaction by other offshore operators is. Then you may have started to give the offshore industry writ large a reason to worry.
The Closing Line is a publication of +More Media.
For sponsorship inquiries, contact me or email scott@andmore.media.
