Bovada alternatives: what to use if it’s blocked in your state
If Bovada doesn’t accept players in your state, a sportsbook licensed by that state gives you the most protection. As of September 2026, all 19 states and Washington, DC on Bovada’s blocked list have legal online sports betting. Another offshore site doesn’t fix much, because it has the same license problem Bovada does.
Pick’em fantasy apps and federally regulated prediction markets are available in many of those states too, though prediction markets are caught up in court fights with the states.
Why another offshore site isn’t the answer
Bovada holds no US state license. It claims licensing from the Union of the Comoros, and state regulators name its operator as Harp Media B.V. of Curaçao. Other offshore sportsbooks that take US players have the same gap.
Regulators haven’t singled Bovada out. Florida’s cease-and-desist letter in February 2025 went to Bovada and two other offshore sites. Rhode Island’s lottery sent letters to six offshore books that summer, and Minnesota’s attorney general wrote to 14 operators, Bovada among them, in November 2025. In August 2025, a bipartisan group of 50 attorneys general asked the US Department of Justice to block illegal offshore gambling sites and their payments and to seize their assets.
Moving your money to another offshore site leaves you with the same exposure. There’s no state regulator to complain to if a payout or account dispute goes wrong, and the site can pull out of your state the way Bovada did in 2024 and 2025.
What’s legal in the states Bovada blocks
| Jurisdiction | Licensed online sportsbooks | PrizePicks Player Picks | Licensed online casinos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Yes | Yes (21+) | No |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes (19+) | No |
| Connecticut | Yes | No | Yes |
| Delaware | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kansas | Yes | Yes | No |
| Louisiana | Yes, in most parishes | No | No |
| Maryland | Yes | No | No |
| Massachusetts | Yes | Yes (21+) | No |
| Michigan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Nevada | Yes, some apps need in-person sign-up | No | No |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Yes | No |
| New Jersey | Yes | No | Yes |
| New York | Yes | Yes | No |
| Ohio | Yes | No | No |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | No | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tennessee | Yes | Yes | No |
| Vermont | Yes | Yes | No |
| West Virginia | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Washington, DC | Yes | Yes | No |
A sportsbook licensed by your state
A licensed sportsbook is the closest match to what you used Bovada for, with spreads, moneylines, totals, parlays and live betting through an app or website. It answers to your state’s gaming regulator, so you have somewhere to take a complaint, and the state’s self-exclusion program applies to it. Most state gaming regulators list the sportsbooks they license on their websites.
A few rules differ from Bovada:
- You have to be 21 in most states (18 in New Hampshire and DC), and you have to be physically in the state when you bet. The apps check your location.
- In Nevada, some sportsbook apps make you register in person before you can bet on your phone.
- In Louisiana, sports betting is legal in most parishes but not all of them.
- The number of apps varies by state. Connecticut, for example, licenses three.
If you mostly played casino games on Bovada, the legal options are narrower. The American Gaming Association’s May 2026 report counts seven states with licensed online casinos: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. All seven are on Bovada’s blocked list. Our guide to choosing an online sportsbook covers what to compare once you know your options.
Pick’em fantasy apps
Pick’em apps have you choose whether athletes will go over or under projected stat lines. The apps run these as fantasy contests, and states differ on whether they allow them.
PrizePicks lists its Player Picks game in 12 of the jurisdictions Bovada blocks: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and DC. It isn’t offered in Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio or Pennsylvania. The minimum age is 18 in most of those states, 19 in Colorado and 21 in Arizona and Massachusetts.
Other pick’em apps have their own lists, and they change. In September 2026, Underdog stopped offering fantasy contests in seven states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Check the app’s own state page before you sign up.
Prediction markets
Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket US are exchanges regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). You buy a contract on an outcome, such as a team winning, and trade it with other users on the exchange. The operators argue that federal oversight means state sports betting laws don’t apply to their sports contracts.
Many states disagree, and federal appeals courts have split. The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi in New Jersey’s case in April 2026. The Ninth Circuit ruled against it in Nevada’s case in August, and the Sixth Circuit ruled against it in Ohio and Tennessee in late September. New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to take up the question.
States are acting in the meantime. On September 2, 2026, a Michigan court ordered Kalshi to block people in Michigan from its sports contracts. On September 10, Connecticut sent cease-and-desist orders to nine platforms, including Polymarket and Crypto.com, and went to court against Kalshi.
What’s available where can change within weeks, so check the platform’s own state list before you sign up. Kalshi and Polymarket US require you to be at least 18.
If you still have money on Bovada
Bovada tells players who live in a restricted state and still have a balance to contact customer service to arrange a cryptocurrency withdrawal. Don’t leave the money there. Under Bovada’s terms, an account with no deposit, withdrawal or bet for 18 months has its balance set to zero. Our guide to Bovada withdrawal times covers how long payouts take.
Don’t use a VPN to keep playing. Bovada’s terms treat it as fraud and let it keep your balance, as we explain in can you use a VPN with Bovada. For the full state history, see where Bovada is available, and for more on the site itself, our Bovada review.
State gambling laws and court rulings were changing quickly in 2026. This isn’t legal advice.
Only bet what you’ve set aside to lose. If gambling has stopped being fun, call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) for free, confidential help, 24/7, or chat online with the National Problem Gambling Helpline.
Sources
- Bovada: Which countries are restricted?, Terms of service (PDF, last updated January 3, 2024)
- American Gaming Association: State of the States 2026 (May 12, 2026)
- Regulators: Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to Harp Media B.V. (February 3, 2025), Massachusetts Attorney General on the 50-state letter to the DOJ (August 5, 2025)
- Pick’em apps: PrizePicks, Where can I play? (updated May 19, 2026), Underdog, Fantasy contest changes in your state
- Prediction markets: Tennessee Attorney General on the Sixth Circuit ruling (September 28, 2026), Michigan Attorney General on the Kalshi order (September 2, 2026), Connecticut Governor’s office on prediction markets (September 10, 2026)