Online Gambling

Bovada.lv has opened its doors to US-based real-money players. In addition to a sportsbook, Bovada has an online casino, an online poker room, and an online racebook.

Note: Contrary to what you might think, .lv does not stand for Las Vegas — it stands for Latvia.

Bovada Sports

BOVADA embarks on its own road, armed with the experience and talent to quickly become the industry’s powerhouse brand and the most trusted and most fun place to bet on sports.

New Depositors benefit from a Free Sports Bet up to $100 - while many lean on signup bonuses in trying to earn your business, BOVADA is focused on providing free wagers up to 20% of your deposit. That free bet can be up to a maximum of $100 and it can be used on any sports market or wager type in the sportsbook.

Props and underdog odds - BOVADA has an unmatched variety of prop bets. You will find more betting options on Sports, Politics and entertainment than anywhere else.

Live betting – mobile betting - BOVADA is available on the go. They Offer live- Betting and mobile betting options from a variety of portable devices. Join BOVADA and learn more today.

Easy-to-understand website -BOVADA offers betting on every major sport and carefully steers you where you need to go each day. Find your favorite team, or odds type in a snap, whether you are betting the late baseball game on the moneyline or the quarterback props on Monday Night Football.

Best customer service, best sports stats - looking for trends, matchup details and game previews before going to the betting menu? BOVADA offers statistics on all major sports so you don’t need to venture far to do your research and handicapping. Need to contact customer service? You can always get a real, live, knowledgeable person who can help answer your questions. Customer Satisfaction is a top priority at BOVADA.

Your information is safe - security, privacy and payouts are three of the most important aspects of playing online. BOVADA’s pledge is 100% safety and satisfaction in all three areas and has independent oversight to make sure you have the best betting experience in their sportsbook. So when it’s time to feel comfortable about playing online, BOVADA is synonymous with this trust.

(For those familiar with Bodog, Bovada is the US-facing rebranding of Bodog.)

So — we’re about three weeks into the 2011 MLB Baseball Season. How’s your favorite team doing…? 4-12 or 12-4?

If you’re like me and a fan of the Cincinnati Reds, you’re pretty happy at the top of the National League Central Division, coming off of a 11-2 pounding of the Pirates on Saturday, a game that included the team’s first grand slam of the 2011 season.

Regardless of how your team is doing, I hope that your sportsbook betting season is in full swing. If not, it’s time to get started with a great offer from one of the top-rated US-friendly online sportsbooks, Oddsmaker. It’s a 100% match bonus, up to a grand. You must use bonus code OCGD100 when you sign up at the sportsbook in order to be eligible for this promotion.

• Minimum deposit of $50 and maximum of $1,000.
• Only New members are eligible to claim this offer.
• Bonus money cannot be played on or transferred to poker.
• This offer cannot be combined with any other promotional offers.
• In order to cash out you must rollover the deposit plus the bonus 20 times.
• General Terms and Conditions will also apply.

Use your sportsbook bonus to bet on the MLB season, the NHL and NBA playoffs, and countless number of other sports and entertainment events.

As reported in yesterday’s The Wall Street Journal, the House Financial Services Committee voted 41-22 to approve legislation that would regulate many forms of online gambling, including poker and bingo, while specifically banning betting on major US sports leagues like the MLB, NFL, NBA, and others.

Other news articles point out that the legislation also would deny licenses to any online site that has allowed, or currently does allow, US players to gamble online. Looking ahead, this would appear to effect PokerStars, FullTilt, and other online poker rooms that have continued to serve US players despite the UIGEA of 2006.

Other key elements of the legislation include player loss limits, rigorous age verification systems and frequent testing thereof, and allowing states to opt out of this legislation and ban its citizens from online gambling.

And the legislation that was passed does not cover how the industry is to be taxed — that’s covered in a separate bill that hasn’t made it out of the House Ways and Means Committee.

It is unlikely that this legislation will be voted on before the current Congressional Session expires in September. The scheduling is simply too tight. If it is not voted on, the process will need to start again next session. Perhaps it will be attached to some other legislation, as was the UIGEA of 2006. Even so, if the legislation is approved, it still would need to be signed by Obama.

We are still years away from any comprehensive online gambling policy in the United States. Need proof? The UIGEA of 2006 took nearly 4 years before it actually went into effect this past June 1 — and there are still plenty of loopholes in that legislation that allow US players to fund and withdraw money from their online gambling accounts… or so I’ve heard.

The NBA Finals start on Thursday in Los Angeles. The Lakers are nearly 2-1 favorites to win the series (-190), while the bookmakers are offering a decent price on the Celts (+155). Of course, if you are like me and picked the Celts to win it all prior to the finals being set, you would have gotten a much better price than they are being offered at today… like +210.

Here is a set of NBA coverage links that you might find useful to research the series:

• Boston Globe
• ESPN.com
• LA Times
• NBA.com
• Yahoo! Sports