Louisiana has joined the bevy of states issuing cease-and-desist orders to Harp Media BV, the parent company of the online gaming company, Bovada.
At an Aug. 15 meeting of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB), Chairman Chris Hebert announced, “As we know, there continues to be a bustling illegal online gambling market in the United States. On August 6th of this year, and on behalf of this board, I sent a letter to the Curacao-based company Harp Media BV, doing business as Bovada, ordering the company to immediately cease and desist from operating its unlicensed online casino in our state.”
So far, Bovada has not added Louisiana to its list of restricted states. But that may happen sooner rather than later. The online company has been quick to restrict states that have taken similar legal action. Recently, Bovada added Ohio to its list of restricted U.S. jurisdictions not long after receiving a cease-and-desist order from the state's gaming commission.
Michigan was among the first to tackle the unlicensed gambling operator. Colorado, Connecticut, and West Virginia soon followed with cease-and-desist letters of their own. And it’s a tactic that seems to work.
Currently, residents in Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Colorado, Michigan, Connecticut, West Virginia, Ohio, and D.C. are prohibited from accessing Bovada’s website. If added, Louisiana would become the 12th U.S. jurisdiction on Bovada’s restricted list.
While cease-and-desist orders are working to discourage Bovada. many illegal gambling operators may not be as compliant.
Unlike many other countries, the U.S. has few federal gambling regulations, leaving the states to tackle enforcement and protection on their own. Offshore companies prey on the U.S., counting on the resource limitations at the state level to keep them in business. That’s an issue that concerns LGCB Chairman Herbert.
“Recently our regulatory colleagues in states such as Michigan and Connecticut have sent similar letters, which have caused Bovada to restrict access to its site to residents of those respective states,” Hebert said.
“It is my sincere hope that Louisiana will join the list of restricted states based on our letter, but also that soon the federal government will use its resources to crack down on companies that don’t have in place the regulatory, legal, and financial safeguards necessary to operate within the U.S. betting market. Not to mention the lack of protections for our citizens in the area of responsible gaming or any contributions toward economic development for the state of Louisiana.”
This isn’t the first time Louisiana regulators have called out the need for federal intervention.
Last year, Louisiana was one of seven states asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to address the problem of illegal offshore gambling. Two years ago, American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller sent a similar request to the DOJ, requesting a federal crackdown on unregulated, offshore gambling sites.
