Michigan’s Deadline Nears for Bovada to Shutter Online Sportsbook

Michigan regulators have no particular love for Bovada, but the official deadline for the offshore sportsbook to pull up stakes and stop taking bets from residents of the Wolverine State — or face legal action — has yet to arrive. 

“Bovada (Harp Media B.V.) has 14 days from ‘receipt’ of the [cease-and-desist] letter to respond,” said Lisa Keith, public information officer for the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), in an email to Covers on Friday. “The 14-day period has not expired yet. The MGCB continues to monitor the situation very closely to ensure they take the appropriate steps to prevent Michigan residents from gambling on their websites.”

Asked when exactly that two-week period is up, Keith said the regulator has “no further comment on this matter.”

Timing is everything

The MGCB announced on May 30 that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada’s operator, Curaçao-based Harp Media.

According to the MGCB, Harp Media is violating the state’s gaming laws by offering unregulated and unlicensed online gambling in the state using the Bovada brand and sites. The regulator gave Harp Media 14 days “from receipt of the letter” to stop state residents from gambling on its websites or it would face legal action.

What exactly that legal action will be was not spelled out. However, the MGCB has since hinted that it would target Bovada’s onshore suppliers if the offshore sportsbook does not stop taking action in the state.

Michigan not alone

State regulators are increasingly showing they won’t let bodies of water or international borders prevent them from trying to stop offshore and illegal operators from taking bets in their backyard. 

One of the reasons why states decided to legalize sports betting in the first place was to divert action placed with unregulated books toward shops regulated locally; the availability and presence of operators such as Bovada could be seen as undermining that mission. 

Michigan sports betting is indeed not alone in warning off Bovada, which has already closed its digital doors in a handful of states, such as Nevada. Connecticut regulators have said they will soon send the offshore a similar letter, and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will soon consider doing so as well.

“Typically, later in the summer just before sports betting ramps up again, we send out a reminder that there are only 3 legal operators in our state and reminding people the dangers of utilizing unlicensed/unregulated platforms to place wagers,” said Kaitlyn Krasselt, director of communications for Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection, in an email to Covers this week.

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