The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) sent a cease-and-desist letter Thursday to Harp Media B.V. and Hove Media, also known as Bovada. The letter states that Bovada, a prominent offshore operator, is operating a sports betting and gambling website in Massachusetts without a license.
The AGO demands that the Curaçao-based gaming company immediately halt all services to users in Massachusetts and refund all their money in U.S. currency.
Since 2011, Bovada has claimed to be a legitimate American gambling operator, but the Massachusetts AG says that unlicensed operators pose significant risks to consumers because they do not undergo the same checks as licensed ones.
Shuttered in 13 States and D.C.
The letter comes several months after the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) issued a similar cease-and-desist order to Bovada in May. At the time, American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller lauded the MGCB for taking action against the offshore giant, which does not pay taxes to the states that it operates in.
"The Michigan Gaming Control Board’s decisive action highlights that states have the power to protect their residents from predatory, offshore gambling sites and is another important step in winning the battle against the illegal market," said Miller in a statement. "The AGA applauds the MGCB’s leadership against bad actors like Bovada and urges other states to follow Michigan’s lead."
The Massachusetts AG is the first state attorney general's office nationwide to issue a cease-and-desist order to Bovada, according to the AGA.
Massachusetts is also following the lead of approximately a dozen other state regulators that have already shut Bovada down, including:
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Bovada is not among the seven licensed online sports betting operators in Massachusetts. The list of licensees include industry heavyweights FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook, as well as DraftKings, which has its East Coast headquarters in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.
Bovada's Response To C&D Letters
What typically happens in these cases is regulators send a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada with a deadline for a response. Bovada usually does not publicly acknowledge receiving letters from these state agencies and silently updates its website to indicate that they have blocked users in that state (in this case Massachusetts).
Kudos to @MassAGO for being the first state Attorney General to issue a cease and desist to offshore operator Bovada, joining gaming regulators across 9 other jurisdictions. We encourage state AGs across the country to follow suit and join the fight against illegal gambling. pic.twitter.com/Lo6fHDXsrP
— American Gaming Association (@AmericanGaming) October 3, 2024
The staff in the Attorney General’s Office’s Gaming Enforcement Division also receives funding from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to assist with cases like this.
Massachusetts AG Cracking Down on Gambling Risks
This move is the latest in a series of moves by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell to raise awareness about the laws and risks of gambling, especially among younger people.
In March she announced the creation of the Youth Sports Betting Safety Coalition. It’s a new partnership between public and private groups hoping to educate middle school, high school and college-aged individuals on the perils of betting.
If you’re ever unsure of which online gaming sites are safe, you can always check the list of safe and secure online casinos, or the list of the best U.S. online casinos.
A 2023 AGA study determined that Americans gamble about $511 billion annually with illegal and unregulated sportsbooks, iGaming websites and deceptively nicknamed “skill games” in bars, liquor and convenience stores, truck stops and other locations. Of that amount, U.S. customers wager nearly $64 billion a year with illegal sportsbooks and unregulated bookies, the AGA found.
Chris Altruda and Matt Rybaltowski contributed to this story
