Bovada.lv may be one of the top sports gambling sites in the world, but today, that’s not good enough. You need mobile support, whether that means an app or mobile friendly site. There’s been a lot of improvement here recently, but has Bovada been keeping up?
To find out, we at BigOnSports have put together a series of mobile site reviews to help you figure out what’s worth using and what’s worth ignoring. So who really has the top mobile betting site or app?
Bovada’s App vs Mobile Site
Like many top betting sites, Bovada has both an iOs app (Bovada Bet Tracker) and a mobile version of the site. What’s the difference and which should you use? First, it’s important to understand the difference.
App Review
Apps take a lot of time to develop, much more than a mobile version of the site. That also means that fixing any problems takes longer. So in general, getting a mobile app just right is trickier. You’re going to want to look at both the mobile site and the app to see which works best for you.
And frankly, Bovada is an example of many of the pitfalls of going with an app. There are some serious issues here, so let’s go through them.
The Problems with Bovada’s Mobile App
My question here is bigger than any individual problem: Why do they have a mobile app to begin with? The two main benefits of such an app are that it can work offline (which is meaningless when the whole point is to play games and bet on sports online) and that you have more options to customize the app.
But the mobile version of Bovada clearly shows that there’s plenty of functionality there. In the app, you can’t place bets, only check betting lines to see what’s available. Plus, customers on the Apple app store complain about recent lines not opening or showing properly, and you can’t play other games like poker. For anyone looking for the best sports betting sites out there, these are absolute deal breakers.
If we’re trying to understand why, a simple look at the application in the app store speaks volumes. The app is still in its version 1.1 and hasn’t been updated in a year. Clearly, Bovada doesn’t intend to keep supporting this application.
Summary of Bovada’s App
Advantages
- Compatible with Android and iOS (as well as Blackberry, if you’re into that)
- Lines available for all major sports (when those lines work)
Disadvantages
- Performance is patchy at best: sometimes lines are not posted properly
- No ability to place bets online
- Seems unlikely Bovada will continue supporting and updating the app
- No Android app
How does the mobile version of the site compare? The answer reveals a lot about why mobile sites work better for online sports betting.
The Advantages of Bovada’s Mobile Site
Before you get too worried that you won’t be able to bet online with a mobile device, there’s good news from Bovada.lv’s mobile site. Essentially, the mobile version of the site offers every single feature available on the regular site version. Aside from the look and feel of using it on a different device, it’s the same site.
But here’s a basic breakdown. Bovada is BigOnSports’ #2 rated online sports betting site for a reason. It’s got nearly everything you want: bet slip, live betting, casino games (over 300 of them), and more.
Besides that, we love Bovada’s welcome bonus, its fast and efficient payout system (one of those features that’s easy to overlook until you need to use it), and its use of more types of credit cards than most. All in all, it’s just a very usable site. Still, there are some drawbacks. Like with the app, sometimes lines are posted a bit slowly. And our biggest complaint is that there’s no live chat.
Summary of Bovada’s Mobile Site
Advantages
Advantages- Many types of credit cards accepted
- Fast and efficient payouts
- Lots of fun casino games
- An integrated bet slip interface
- A great welcome bonus for both sports betting and casino games
- Live betting for many games
Disadvantages
- Slow to post lines on occasion
- No live chat
Want to Know More? Check Out the Full Review
If you’d like a more in-depth look at our full Bovada.lv review, you can get more detail on what the full site offers there as well as in-depth comparisons to all of the other top sports betting sites out there.
It’s got everything you need to get out there and start betting like a pro.
