Bovada sign-up and ID verification: what you need

ByCrown Wagers Editorial Team Updated Bovada Help

We earn a commission if you open a Bovada account through links on this page.

Signing up for Bovada takes a short form with your name, address, date of birth, email and phone number, plus a code texted to your phone. You must be 18 or older (or older where your state requires) and live outside the 19 states and Washington, DC that Bovada blocks. Bovada may ask for photo ID after you register or when you deposit, withdraw or change your profile, and it says reviews take about 24 to 48 hours.

Who can open an account

  • You have to be at least 18, or older if the legal age where you live is higher (see how old you have to be to use Bovada).
  • You can’t live in one of the 19 states or Washington, DC that Bovada blocks. See where Bovada is available for the list.
  • You get one account. Section 3.2 of Bovada’s terms says, “You are permitted to open only one (1) Account. Only one account is allowed per household.”

No US state licenses Bovada. It claims licensing from the Union of the Comoros, and state regulators name its operator as Harp Media B.V. of Curaçao (more in our Bovada review).

How to sign up

  1. Go to bovada.lv and click Join at the top of the page.
  2. Fill in the form with your full name, address, date of birth, email and phone number. Bovada asks for “accurate and verifiable information” and your correct country of residence.
  3. Click Register.
  4. Enter the code Bovada texts to your phone and click Verify Now.

Use your name, date of birth and address exactly as they appear on your ID. Bovada’s terms say everything you give it must be “truthful, accurate and verifiable in all respects,” and it can disable an account while it checks details that don’t line up.

Text codes and login lockouts

Bovada texts a code to your registered mobile number when you sign up, update your profile, request a withdrawal, or claim or redeem a bonus. The action won’t go through until you enter the code, and a reminder stays under the profile icon until you do.

You get 3 attempts to resend and enter the code. If your number still won’t validate, you’ll need to contact customer service. An unfinished text check can also stop you logging in.

Separately, 3 failed login attempts block the account, so use Forgot Password rather than guessing. You can also turn on two-factor authentication, which asks for a code by text or from an authenticator app at login.

When Bovada asks for ID

Bovada’s help pages and terms mention these times:

  • After you register, if it needs to confirm your details. The request appears in the Messages section of your account.
  • Around a deposit, to confirm you’re 18 or older, that the card is yours and that you’re the person withdrawals will go to.
  • Before a payout. The withdrawal page says you “may be required to submit documentation prior to a payment being processed.”
  • After you change your profile.
  • Any time it wants proof of age. The terms let Bovada suspend an account and ask for it.

Which documents to send, and how

Bovada’s automated check takes a passport, driver’s license or identity card, with a clear photo of the front and another of the back. To start it:

  1. Log in and click the silhouette icon at the top right of the page.
  2. Next to “Identity verification required,” click Verify now.
  3. Agree to the terms and click Verify Me.
  4. Choose the country or region that issued your ID, then the ID type.
  5. Take a photo of the ID or upload a file, front and back.

Bovada says it reviews ID in about 24 to 48 hours, sometimes less. It doesn’t give a separate time for the automated check.

If you’ve deposited with a credit card, you’ll also need a Credit Card Verification Form for each card before Bovada processes any withdrawal, Bitcoin included. It’s under Forms & Agreements at the bottom of Bovada’s site. The card must be in your name and match your account details.

Bovada’s deposit and profile pages also mention “other identification” without saying what that is, and its verification page doesn’t mention a selfie or proof of address.

What Bovada says it does with your details

Bovada’s KYC policy says that by giving it your details, you agree to it passing them to third-party age and identity verification services, and that it may check what you submit against government-issued ID.

Registering also lets Bovada disclose your identity and account information to anyone who claims you’re under the minimum age, or that something you posted on the site infringes their intellectual property or privacy.

Its security page says your information is encrypted and only accessible to relevant staff “on a need-to-know basis.” The KYC policy doesn’t say how long Bovada keeps copies of your ID or how it stores them.

What gets an account flagged or closed

Bovada’s terms and help pages name these problems. Our article on why Bovada disables accounts covers each one in more detail.

  • A second account, including one in the same household. Duplicate accounts “are subject to immediate closure,” and Bovada can merge them, charge an administration fee and refuse payouts.
  • A VPN or proxy, which the terms treat as fraud, with the account closed and the balance forfeited. See using a VPN with Bovada.
  • Living in a restricted state. If you move to one with money in your account, Bovada says to contact customer service about a crypto withdrawal.
  • Details that don’t match your ID. The KYC policy says false or unverifiable information can get an account terminated and potential winnings voided.
  • Someone else’s card. Bovada says another person’s credit card “should not be used.”
  • Bonus abuse. Each bonus is limited to one per person, household, device and IP address, among other things, and Bovada’s abuse list includes masking your IP address and low-margin or hedge betting.

Your first deposit and the welcome bonus

If you want a welcome bonus, redeem it before you deposit. Bovada’s sports bonus page says to “redeem it, make a deposit,” and that offer only works on your first deposit. Click the profile icon and choose Rewards, then click Deposit next to the bonus, or type in a code and click Redeem. Bonus deposits start at $20 unless the offer says otherwise.

Our list of Bovada bonus codes has every current code and its rollover, and our guide on how to deposit on Bovada covers payment methods and fees.

If you live outside the restricted states and have your ID handy, this link opens Bovada’s welcome bonus page.

Visit Bovada

Affiliate link. 18+ (or older where your state requires). Not available in 19 states and Washington, DC.

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

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