Bovada vs PointsBet: One Serves the US, One Won't

Bovada vs PointsBet: Zero Overlap, Not Close Competitors

Bovada vs PointsBet reads like a matchup between two sportsbooks and isn't really one, because the two brands don't compete for the same customer anywhere on earth. Bovada is a US-facing offshore book that explicitly blocks Canadian signups at registration. PointsBet sold its entire American sportsbook to Fanatics Betting and Gaming in a deal that closed in April 2024 and now operates only in Australia and Canada. A reader who can actually open a Bovada account cannot open a PointsBet one, and vice versa — this is a legal-status comparison first, a product comparison a distant second.

Bovada vs PointsBet looks, on the surface, like two offshore-adjacent sportsbook names worth weighing against each other. It isn't that kind of comparison. Bovada is built for US players and won't even let a Canadian address past its signup form. PointsBet sold its entire American sportsbook to Fanatics Betting and Gaming in a deal that closed state by state, finishing in Illinois in April 2024, and today operates only in Australia and Canada. The two brands have essentially zero shared customer base — which makes this less a “which is better” question and more a “which one can you even use” question.

Bovada vs PointsBet, side by side

	Bovada	PointsBet
Founded	2011 (Bodog lineage)	2015, Melbourne, Australia
Core license	None current — Curaçao 8048/JAZ lapsed; now cites the Union of the Comoros	AGCO-registered (Ontario), AGLC/AiGC (Alberta), Australian state/territory licenses
Ownership	Operated by Harp Media B.V.	PointsBet Holdings Limited (ASX: PBH); MIXI Australia holds 66.43%
US footprint	Takes signups in most states; blocks 20 jurisdictions outright	None — sold entire US business to Fanatics, closed April 2024
Canada footprint	Blocked outright at registration	Live in Ontario since April 2022, expanded into Alberta
Product	Sportsbook, casino, poker (shared Ignition liquidity), racebook	Sportsbook and iGaming in Australia and Canada only
Banking	Mostly crypto — free, often under 24 hours; card carries a ~5.9% fee	Interac e-Transfer, debit, PayPal (Canada); bank transfer/PayID (Australia)

Is Bovada or PointsBet Legal Where You Actually Live?

This is the whole comparison, really. Bovada has no US state license anywhere — its Curaçao registration lapsed and it now cites Comoros licensure — but it still accepts players from most of the country, blocking 20 specific jurisdictions rather than the nation as a whole. PointsBet holds real, named licenses, just not American ones: AGCO registration in Ontario, an Alberta license, and state/territory regulation across Australia. A US reader has no legal PointsBet to open. A Canadian or Australian reader has no legal Bovada to open, since Bovada's own signup form rejects Canadian addresses and it was never built for the Australian market at all.

The non-overlap: Bovada is US-only and blocks Canada. PointsBet is Australia-and-Canada-only and sold off its entire US business in April 2024. There is no country where both brands are simultaneously a real option for the same reader.

Is PointsBet Legit After Leaving the US?

Selling a business for $225 million is not the move of a company in trouble — PointsBet kept operating publicly on the ASX and stayed the largest market it had, Australia, plus Canada. Tokyo-based MIXI, Inc. took a controlling 66.43% stake in September 2025, which is a change of ownership rather than a sign of distress. The one real mark against it: Ontario's AGCO proposed a five-day licence suspension in early 2026 over how PointsBet Canada disclosed a Jontay Porter-linked prop-betting issue, which PointsBet is appealing.

Which One for Who

There isn't really a “which one” here — there's a “which one is even available to you.” American readers get Bovada or nothing between these two, and Bovada comes with no license behind it and 20 blocked states to check first. Canadian and Australian readers get PointsBet or nothing, and PointsBet comes with real regulatory oversight, an AGCO disciplinary matter still playing out. Neither brand is a way to make money; both run on a house edge, and the more useful question than “which is better” is simply “which one can I legally open an account with.” 21+ where legal. If gambling stops being entertainment, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Bovada vs PointsBet — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bovada or PointsBet legal to use?

It depends entirely on where you are, and the two brands don't share a market. Bovada has no US state license — it runs on a lapsed Curaçao registration and now cites the Union of the Comoros — and blocks 20 US jurisdictions outright, but it does still take signups from most of the country. PointsBet holds real licenses, just not American ones: it is AGCO-registered in Ontario, licensed in Alberta, and regulated in the Australian states and territories where it operates. It has taken no US customer since selling that business to Fanatics in April 2024.

Is Bovada or PointsBet more legit?

PointsBet, structurally — it's a publicly traded company (ASX: PBH), majority-owned since September 2025 by Tokyo-based MIXI, Inc., operating under named provincial and state regulators. Bovada's legitimacy is track-record-only: fifteen years of forum-documented US payouts with no license currently backing that history. Both have real operating histories; only one has a regulator that can actually intervene if something breaks.

Can Canadians sign up for Bovada instead of PointsBet?

No. Bovada's registration form rejects Canadian addresses outright — it is built exclusively for US players. Canadians looking for a Bovada-family option end up at Bodog (rebranded as Ozoon on this network), a different brand under the same corporate lineage, with its own province-by-province legal picture. PointsBet, not Bovada, is the licensed sportsbook actually built for Canadian players, live in Ontario since April 2022 and expanded into Alberta.

Can Americans use PointsBet since Bovada blocks their state?

No — PointsBet stopped taking US signups entirely once its American sportsbook, iGaming, and retail betting business sold to Fanatics Betting and Gaming, with the sale closing state by state through April 2024. A reader in a Bovada-blocked US state (Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and 17 others) has no PointsBet fallback; Fanatics Sportsbook, which now runs on the same underlying Banach Technology platform, is the actual successor there.

Is PointsBet safer than Bovada?

In the narrow sense of "does a regulator stand behind it," yes, wherever PointsBet is actually offered — AGCO oversight in Ontario, AGLC/AiGC in Alberta, and state-level regulation in Australia give a bettor real recourse. That safety only applies inside PointsBet's own footprint, though; it isn't a safer alternative to Bovada for a US reader, because it simply isn't available to one. Bovada's safety, everywhere it operates, rests on the operator's own incentive to keep paying rather than on any license behind it.

Why do Bovada and PointsBet get compared at all if they don't overlap?

Mostly search confusion — both get typed alongside terms like "legal," "legit," and "safe" by readers trying to figure out if an offshore-sounding brand is trustworthy, without realizing the two serve completely different countries. The honest answer for either name is the same: check what it actually offers in your specific location before assuming brand recognition means availability.