On Tuesday, Bovada.lv moved to block all real money gambling from customers in the state of Maryland. Residents from Maryland can no longer create new accounts, and existing customers have been informed that their accounts are closed and they need to request cashouts.
The decision to pull out of the state comes exactly two weeks after Bodog.com was seized and indictments unsealed in Maryland against Bodog founder Calvin Ayre and three top-level officers. Undercover investigations spanning a six year period were also operated from within the state.
Customers have reportedly been informed that the decision was due to “difficulties finding and maintaining acceptable payment options.”
Late last week, reports surfaced that US-facing payment processor MyPaylinQ was withdrawing from several states; however, in a statement to pokerfuse, the representative said it was only Maryland customers affected.
Residents in Maryland are running out of options for playing online poker. Merge Gaming Network—by far the largest option open to US players and the only network showing consistent growth—banned new accounts signups from Maryland alongside Louisiana, Missouri, New York and Washington D.C back in late May 2011.
In the same week, Bodog changed their domain to dot.eu—and then rebranded to Bovada.lv—well ahead of the recent dot.com domain name seizure.
Although pokerfuse was able to confirm reports of today’s withdrawal, no further information was given as to the reasons behind the move. Bovada customer service was not able to comment on whether withdrawals from other states are to follow.
