![\"Question](\"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/problem-solving-question-mark-thinking-bigstock-300px.jpg\")
It\u2019s common for people to want to place a bet, but not everyone has opened a betting account. When that is the case, they might know someone who does have a betting account and ask them to let them use it to place a wager. In short, this is not allowed and it is specifically written into the terms and conditions of betting websites that letting someone else use your account could end up with it being shut down and any winnings withheld.<\/p>\n
There are numerous reasons why it\u2019s problematic to let someone else use your account, not the least of which is the possibility of disputes over any winnings amounts. Imagine that you\u2019ve let your friend use your account, their bet has won and you\u2019ve suddenly got \u00a350,000 sitting in your account. The temptation to take that money for yourself might prove too much, so bookies would prefer it wasn\u2019t there in the first place.<\/p>\n
Obviously that is at the more innocent end of the spectrum, there are other reasons people may want to use your betting account such as to launder money<\/a>.\u00a0 It is a legal responsibility for betting companies to prevent this and therefore they have stringent terms that state only the account holder can use an account and bet through it.\u00a0 Find out more below.\u00a0 If you want to read about whether it allowed for someone else to give you money to bet with<\/a> or if you can place a bet for someone else<\/a>, see our dedicated pages.<\/p>\n This is why companies have it written into their terms and conditions that you will not allow anyone else to use your betting account. The second that you do, the bookmaker or casino that you bet with doesn\u2019t know who the bettor is nor where the money has come from that was used to place the wager in question, meaning that they\u2019re breaking the terms of their gambling licence.<\/p>\n When it is spelt out like this, you can understand why it is that a betting company would sooner close your account than potentially lose their own licence<\/a>. It\u2019s vitally important that they\u2019re able to say with confidence that they know where all money they accept is coming from and who it is that is using their accounts, with large fines<\/a> handed out to bookmakers that fall foul of either of these important aspects of their licence.<\/p>\n Bettors not only need to prove who they are to a betting company but also that they are of a legal age to allow them to place bets. If it wasn\u2019t against the rules to let someone place a bet using your account, there\u2019s nothing to stop someone letting a minor place a bet, say, or someone that has already self-excluded from having a betting account of their own. That\u2019s why bookmakers and casinos need to know who is using accounts on their sites.<\/p>\n When the money is returned to the punter, it is \u2018clean\u2019 and no longer the result of ill-gotten gains. If it was legal to allow someone else to use your betting account, you could agree with someone to \u2018wash\u2019 their money in exchange for a small fee. The Gambling Commission needs to avoid this from happening wherever possible, with the best way of doing so being to not allow people to use accounts that aren\u2019t their own.<\/p>\nWhy You Can\u2019t Let Someone Use Your Account<\/h2>\n
![\"UKGC](\"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/ukgc-mug-750px-300x204.jpg\")
One of the United Kingdom Gambling Commission\u2019s biggest fights is against fraud and money laundering. It is because of this that companies signing up to be licensed by the UKGC have to sign up to a set of rules and regulations aimed at stopping both things from happening. Part of that includes the various betting companies knowing who it is that is depositing money<\/a> and placing bets with their site.<\/p>\nA Legal Obligation<\/h2>\n
![\"Legal\"](\"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/legal-bigstock-megaflopp-300px.jpg\")
Gambling companies are watched extremely closely by the Gambling Commission, with the governing body for the industry keen to make the UK\u2019s betting market one of the most trusted in the world. A big part of that involves companies having a legal obligation to identify who it is that is placing bets with them and where the money wagered is coming from. It\u2019s not just that they like to make things difficult for punters.<\/p>\nMoney Laundering Is A Problem<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/money-laundering-400px-300x200.jpg\")
The other big thing that the UKGC is trying to avoid happening on licensed betting sites is money laundering. Those that have acquired money illegally need to do what they can to \u2018wash\u2019 that money so that it appears as if it was gained legally. One way to do this is to place a bet on a both outcomes in a two-way market with roughly even odds, meaning that they\u2019re all but guaranteed to get the majority of their money returned back to them by a bookmaker.<\/p>\nA Case In Point<\/h2>\n
![\"legal](\"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/legal-explanation-300x200.jpg\")
There was an example of a company refusing to pay out on winnings that they thought had come from a third-party back in 2016. In that instance, a 19-year-old student named Megan McCann had opened a betting account and placed a wager of nearly \u00a325,000 on 12 horses, which won. The Lucky 15 should have paid out just shy of \u00a31 million, but the betting company refused to pay out, saying the funds had come from a third party.<\/p>\n
![\"Limited](\"https:\/\/www.newbettingsites.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/limited-account-bigstock-omphoto-300px.jpg\")
The obvious question still to ask about this particular topic comes in the form of why you\u2019d want to let someone else use your account anyway. Given that you\u2019re at risk of having your account shut down if it gets discovered that someone else has been using it, it is a big risk to take for very little reward. The answer in most cases comes in the form of a betting company\u2019s decision to discriminate against successful punters.<\/p>\n