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Click here to visit Bovada Sports.
Bovada Sports Betting Review & Free Bet Welcome Bonus
Bovada is basically the US-facing version of mega-gaming brand Bodog. While the Bovada brand is relatively new, the management team has been in the industry for a long time, operating the very successful Bodog brand of online gaming and sports wagering.
Bovada provides three core online services: a casino, poker room and sportsbook. Bovada Sports is the most popular online bookmaker among U.S. bettors. It delivers the reputation of Bodog with the services and attention that US bettors demand.
Why should I place my sports bets at Bovada Sports?
First of all, Bovada is probably the most popular and reputable online betting operation available to US players. With a single account, you can place all your sports bets, but also play in the Bovada Casino or the Bovada Poker room.
Most importantly, Bovada provides up to $250 in free bets to all new sports bettors!
Open a new account at Bovada Sports and deposit $500, and Bovada will match that deposit by 50% for up to a $250 free bet! No bonus code or special coupon required.
Bovada Sports Free Bet Explained
There is a lot of confusion surrounding this Bovada welcome “bonus” which we’ll try to explain here.
First off, at Bovada, there is a difference between the terms “free bet” and “bonus” – these are two completely different things.
A new player joining Bovada Sports receives a 50% “free bet”. If you deposit $500, you would receive a $250 free bet. Let’s say you place the $250 free bet on a 1:1 odds bet and win. You DO NOT get to keep the original risk amount or wager. That $250 free bet has been used and disappears.
The $250 that you’ve won becomes the amount of “bonus” you have. You will now have a bonus balance of $250 and a real money balance of $500.
The Bovada Sports bonus CANNOT itself be withdrawn, but it can be wagered and any resulting winnings are, of course, yours to withdraw and keep.
All bonuses claimed through the sportsbook have a 3x rollover requirement on the sum of the bonus and the deposit amounts before you can process any withdrawals. In our scenario above depositing $500, winning the free bet, and now sitting with $250 in the bonus account, you’d have to wager a total of $2,250 ( ($500 + $250) x 3 ) before you can make a withdrawal.
Here’s an area where a lot of bettors get confused. The 3x rollover requirement – which is quite low making this an excellent offer btw – is applied to the DEPOSIT amount and the BONUS amount.
It is NOT applied to the FREE BET amount – which is what you get when you first join Bovada.
Remember, there is a difference. At Bovada, the free bet is not a bonus. The free bet DETERMINES your bonus. When people post in forums or blogs and use these terms interchangeably, they are inevitably going to get themselves confused and confuse everyone reading their mess.
When Bovada says that “winnings” are not included in the wagering requirements, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE.
Understand the terminology! To simplify, let’s say I deposited $20, received my $10 free bet, and wagered that on a 10 to 1 bet, and won. This event can be described two ways, one is correct and one is total fail:
Correct Bovada Terminology
I have won my $10 free bet, and so have earned a $100 bonus. This $100 is not “winnings”, this is my “bonus”.
The person who is likely to get confused and upset with Bovada’s rules uses this terminology to describe the same event:
Total Fail at Bovada Terminology
So this leads to an important point. Don’t use that $10 free bet on a longshot unless you’re willing to wager 3x that amount (plus the deposit)!!
Note that making ANY withdrawal prior to meeting the rollover requirements will void the bonus, AND the winnings from your bonus, AND they will charge you for the amount of the free bet!!!
See what just happened there? That free bet is only free if you MEET THE ROLLOVER REQUIREMENTS!
Don’t feel bad for getting confused on how this works. I’m probably one of 5 people in the world who understands this. And shame on Bovada themselves for adding to the confusion – they always call the free bet offer a welcome “bonus”! They just make it worse.
Click here to visit Bovada Sports.
Bovada Sports Review
Bovada boasts a diverse betting platform and has a strong reputation for its commitment to customer service and fast withdrawals. Very slow withdrawals are a common problem for U.S. bettors at many online sportsbooks.
Bovada uses Bodog’s powerful and proprietary Web-based system. Accessing the bookmaker does not require a download and installation. Simply connect to it via any modern web browser. For mobile users, there is also an app, which supports iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and more. The account is fully stored online, which is convenient, since no matter where you log on from, your preferences persist.
To register, you have two options: Download the app or go to bovada.lv. Click the join now link. The system will then walk you through a series of information collection phases. It is possible to create an account with relatively minimal details, but if you want to make deposits and receive withdrawals, then you will have to provide bank information and so forth.
Both on the website and in the app, Bovada uses the concept of a bet slip. Based on the sport or event you’ve chosen, Bovada will automatically generate the bet slip. The slip is mostly self-explanatory and even has built-in help. It is possible to place multiple related bets on a single slip. For instance, you can place multiple bets for the football games on Sunday on a single slip.
Bovada is a full-featured sportsbook. It takes bets on all major sports leagues, all major sporting events and horse and dog racing. It also offers financials and special events, such as elections and American Idol. The main wager types are single bet, multi-single bet, parlay, teaser, sweetheart teaser, cross-sport teaser, if bet, reverse, round robin and buying points. In terms of odds and lines, Bovada offers point spreads, money lines, totals, decimal odds, fractional odds, futures and props.
Additional Promotions
For all clients, Bovada offers a promotional calendar that has bonuses available for particular seasons. For instance, Survive the Season awards you a $250 bonus if you win at least one football bet each week of the NFL season. Bovada also offers cross-service promotions. For instance, NFL Poker Pass provides you with an entry to a $5K poker freeroll whenever you bet the NFL.
Read to place some bets at Bovada Sports? Click here to get started!

Bovada also has a great online casino with an amazing amount of games. You can read our review of the Bovada Casino and the Bovada Bonus Codes to use when registering your account at https://onlinecasino-usa.org/bovada-casino-review-bonus-codes/
You can learn more about Bovada Poker at # which is considered the best online poker room for US players!
Good luck and enjoy your free bets!
Something else you sports fans may be interested in – Real money fantasy sports!
US players can play in fantasy leagues for real money, made explicitly legal by federal law! Visit Fantasy Footballers to learn more. And read this Draftkings bonus code article to learn how to receive the biggest bonus from the best fantasy sports site.
Last updated: February 23, 2025 at 18:39 pm
User Reviews
Good Review
Thank you for detailing this "free bet" offer - it was too confusing trying to get this information from support but you made it quite clear. It's still a great bonus but you have to understand it first!!! Thanks!
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