Why Has Your Betting Account Been Limited?

account limit notice betvictorIt is not uncommon for bookmakers to limit or even close a betting account. There can be a host of reasons why they might do this, up to and including the idea that you’re simply being too successful. They might also limit your account if you have abused their offers or done something that goes against the terms and conditions that you sign up to when you join.

It’s a frustrating thing, to have your account limited, but it’s something that bookmakers are allowed to do. Whether it’s because of your success, because you constantly take advantage of a company’s promotions or else simply because the betting site feels there’s something odd about you’re usage, there’ll always be a specific reason why your account has been limited.

You Will Always Be Monitored

monitoringWhilst it sounds somewhat Machiavellian to suggest that you’re being watched and monitored at all times, it is nevertheless a truth of betting companies that they keep an eye on their customers. It’s not as thought there’s a worker assigned to constantly look at what you’re betting on, but there are computerised systems that are always evaluating every registered account.

There are many reasons for this, including the fact that betting companies have to keep an eye out for potential money laundering, so evaluating bets as they’re placed can be an important part of that. It’s worth bearing this in mind when you’re looking at placing your bets, even though it’s unlikely to stop you from placing a bet that you think will be a winner.

Reasons Accounts Get Limited

Online FraudThe sad truth is that bookmakers will put limits and restrictions onto an account that wins more often than it loses. It’s a shame, but it happens. Interestingly, though, it doesn’t happen as often as those that complain about it would have you believe.

Instead, there are a number of other reasons that are more common when it comes to account restrictions being put in place.

Matched Betting, Hedging & Arbing

Whilst you might well think it’s entirely fair for you to use whatever methods are available to you to try to win money, bookmakers don’t agree. They think that the playing field should be level, so if you’re taking advantage of the gaps that sometimes exist between odds in order to guarantee yourself a profit then they’re going to stop that from happening.

It’s not uncommon for bookmakers to have rules in their terms and conditions that specifically forbid arbing and matched betting, so that’s something you need to bear in mind. If you engage in this behaviour then you remove the risk that you might lose your bet, which is the very nature of the level playing field argument.

Bonus Abuse

Bookmakers are constantly on the lookout for new customers. One of the chief ways of getting people on board is by offering bonuses and free bets, but current customers sometimes find ways to take advantage of these. That’s to say nothing of the fact that some of the bonuses and free bets will actively be aimed at new customers in order to keep them happy.

It’s not uncommon for bookies to have it in their small print that only one bonus or free bet will be allowed per ip address, so using your partner’s account to get a second free bet won’t be allowed. It’s considered to be such a serious issue that people have gone to prison for abusing bonus offers, such a man who made nearly £80,000 doing so.

You’re Betting For Someone Else

There are lots of different people who are not allowed to place bets for some reason or another. Whether it be professional sports people or those under the age of 18, there are different reasons why someone might ask you to place bets on their behalf. Betting companies are very good at what they do, however, so the likelihood is that you’re going to get found out.

Sometimes people might give you the money to place a bet for them, whilst others might involve syndicates working together and using different betting account. Whatever it is, if it’s against the terms and conditions of the betting company then the likelihood is that you’ll get found out and your account will have limits put on it.

You’re Exploiting Technical Vulnerabilities

There are different ways that online bookmakers aren’t as quick off the mark as some punters will be. In the world of courtsiding, for example, bettors will try to relay information back to accomplices before the bookmakers will have received the information. This is most famously done in tennis, hence the name, where the umpire needs to enter the score into a device.

If a bookie suspects you of doing such a thing then they’ll limit your account in order to protect themselves. Given that it’s questionable whether that practice is legal or not, it’s hardly a surprise that bookmakers might not want to let you get away with it. Even so, if your account is limited as a result then you’ll only have yourself to blame.

Match-Fixing Involvement

Bookmakers now have systems put in place that are designed to figure out when there is suspicious activity on a betting market. If your account is being used to place bets on an outcome that seems dodgy to the bookies then they’re going to look to limit your account where they can. Both match-fixing and spot-fixing is illegal, but it can also be done accidentally.

You might know someone who knows someone who knows a footballer who happened to tell them that they are going to change clubs in the summer, for example. If you then placed a bet on that happening then you’ll be guilty of match-fixing, even if you didn’t realise. Other times a limit can be put on account because someone did know they were doing something wrong, of course.

Avoid Getting An Account Limited

Betting ExchangeThe easiest way to avoid your account being limited is to make sure that you don’t do something that you’re not supposed to do. Reading through the list above, if you readily admit that you’ve done one of those things in the past then you’re unlikely to be too annoyed that your account has been limited, given the you acknowledge that you’ve engaged in unfair practices.

That being said, sometimes you don’t really do anything wrong and will still have restrictions placed on your account. Winning plenty of wagers might not seem like an egregious crime, but it is for a company that is supposed to make profit from losing bets rather than take losses on winning bets all the time.

One of the other best ways to get around the idea of having your account limited is to use betting exchanges. On a betting exchange, the company behind it makes a profit regardless of who wins the bet because it’s peer-to-peer betting. They’re extremely unlikely to put restrictions on an account because it’s of no interest to them that you’re winning all the time.