The Grand Canyon State became the latest to attempt to shut down the owners of global offshore gambling goliath Bovada this week, with the Arizona Department of Gaming issuing a cease-and-desist order to the illegal online gaming site.
The letter was sent to Harp Media B.V., which is the operator in charge of Bovada, alleging the company violated three felonies in the state — those being Promotion of Gambling, Illegal Control of an Enterprise and Money Laundering.
ADG Responds to Arizona's Bovada Ban
In a press release from the ADG on Tuesday, representatives from the department laid out the exact reasons why they’re demanding Bovada halt all business operations in the state, with ADG Director Jackie Johnson saying their actions this week are meant to protect residents of the state.
"We are actively monitoring the evolving landscape of online gaming and taking proactive steps like this helps us protect Arizona’s communities and economy from illegal activities,” Johnson said. “Our enforcement team is committed to preventing unauthorized operations from establishing a foothold here. Arizona will not be a safe haven for unlicensed or unlawful gaming, nor will we allow unlawful entities to compromise the integrity of gaming within our state."
Arizona sports betting is far from the first market to be threatened by Bovada's operations.
What Happens Next?
For now, all we know is that the ADG has demanded that Bovada’s operators cease all gambling activities in the state (both retail and online), with regulators in the state requiring Harp Media B.V. to do so immediately.
Arizona is the latest state to issue such an order to Bovada, with 16 states and Washington D.C. already taking such steps this year alone, coming on the heels of Michigan regulators being the first to take such action in May.
Longtime gaming industry insider Brendan Bussmann, who is the managing partner at B Global, told BetArizona.com that the ADG’s move is unsurprising, but is a welcome step toward snuffing out illegal gaming activities nationwide.
“Arizona Division of Gaming has now joined the club of over a dozen states that has asked the illegal market to stop preying on its citizens,” Bussmann said. “This is just one of many sites that exist but it’s a start in a larger, bigger battle against those unlicensed and unregulated entities. These sites, just like the illegal sweepstakes operators, purposely skirt the regulated market and offer no consumer protections, no [responsible gaming] standards, and operate in the shadows of the world. It’s time for all of these sites to be shut down. Today’s action is a positive for the regulated industry.”
The ADG’s actions this week come two years after American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller took the first steps toward getting Bovada and other illegal offshore operators out of the American gaming industry, with the longtime industry executive calling for a full federal crackdown on unregulated offshore gaming activity.
“Americans have a longstanding and widespread interest in wagering on sports and seek channels to place bets regardless of their legality. That is the underlying reason for the failure of previous federal efforts to restrict this activity through the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which the Supreme Court invalidated in 2018,” Miller wrote back in 2022. “Rather than preventing sports betting in the U.S., PASPA instead enabled a massive illegal sports betting market that the AGA previously estimated to be in excess of $150 billion dollars annually. This near-monopoly for illegal operators fueled other criminal activity, provided no consumer protections or transparency to ensure the integrity of sporting contests, and generated no economic benefit for states or tribal nations.”
Arizona Wants Residents Using Safe, Legal Operators
For now, Arizona regulators are calling on residents of the 48th State to remain vigilant when gaming and ensure that all wagering activity is done with onshore, regulated operators in order to receive the consumer protection and safe gaming experience that only licensed operators can offer.
Stick with BetArizona for further developments around Arizona betting apps.
