After being closed for a little over a year, Bovada Poker has opened its virtual doors once again. The poker room initially shut down in September 2016 after selling its software to Ignition Casino and advising its players to migrate there. The reopening has come as a surprise to many, as the general assumption in the poker community was that ownership of Bovada Poker had been fully transferred to Ignition Casino. However, although the two companies will use the same poker software and both use the Pai Wang Luo Poker Network alongside Bodog, Bovada Poker has clarified that they remain separate and will operate independently of each other.
Bovada Poker is available in all US states except New York, Nevada, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware. It operates in a legal grey area and the licence it once held from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has disappeared from its website. However, Bovada still has a strong reputation in the poker community as a reliable and trustworthy gambling site, having continuously operated its casino and sportsbetting branches for many years now.
Bovada Poker has also reopened in South America, excluding Ecuador, Uruguay, Guyana, French Guyana and Suriname. There has been speculation that Bovada may also enter the Australian pokermarket in the wake of 888 and PokerStars’ exit from the country.
Notable features include Zone Poker, Bovada’s version of PokerStars’ Zoom, a quick seat function, and anonymous tables. Zone Poker is the most appealing of these features, allowing players to drastically increase the volume of hands they play.
Promotions include a 100% welcome bonus of up to $500 for new players and a 200% refer-a-friend bonus of up to $100. Bovada also regularly hosts tournaments with large guarantees, with $1.5 million being put up weekly, including a $100,000 guaranteed tournament with a $162 buy-in held every Sunday.
Mobile poker players will be pleased to hear that Bovada Poker has returned to mobile as well. Before Bovada Poker shut down last year, its mobile app was arguably the best available to US players. It was praised for its slick, clean aesthetic and ease of use. Cash games are available on the mobile app, as well as Zone Poker. You also have full access to the cashier from your mobile, meaning you can deposit and play whenever you feel like it.
Bovada also supports the popular cryptocurrency bitcoin and many other forms of payments, including credit cards, cheques and bank wires. Both deposits and withdrawals are free so why not try playing iphone poker with bitcoin.