- Existing New Jersey players will be unaffected.
- New Jersey customers can sign up for real money accounts for casino and sports.
- The move comes only one week after several affiliates received “cease and desist” letters from New Jersey regulators demanding they remove links to unlicensed poker sites that offer real money games in the state.
Bovada has ceased accepting new sign-ups from New Jersey to its online poker room, affiliates were informed Thursday.
Bovada, a skin on the Bodog Poker Network, accepts players exclusively from the United States. Existing New Jersey players will be unaffected.
The move comes only one week after several affiliates received “cease and desist” letters from New Jersey regulators demanding they remove links to unlicensed poker sites that offer real money games in the state.
Other US-facing dot-com online poker rooms have taken similar steps in recent weeks.
Poker Only
“Our partner brand Bovada.lv has chosen to stop new account registrations for residents of the state of New Jersey. Existing account holders will not be affected,” reads a statement from BettingPartners, an affiliate network for Bodog, Bovada and other clients.
“This is a decision they have taken of their own volition and they hope that their existing customers continue to enjoy all of the products and services Bovada.lv has to offer.”
The final part of the company’s press release refers to the site’s ongoing horse racing, sports wagering and casino games business. These will remain available to New Jersey residents, even if they sign up at a future date.
New Jersey residents who already have an online poker account with Bovada.lv will still be able to participate in real money games.
Withdrawal Symptoms
Over the last two weeks, other offshore-regulated sites have withdrawn their real money services for US residents who can now play on government-approved poker sites.
WPN no longer accepts real money players from DE, NV and NJ as of May 14. Full Flush Poker also halted its online poker operations in those three states last week.
According to estimated figures provided by PokerScout, Bodog is the 8th largest online poker room worldwide, and by far the largest accepting players in the United States.
