Why Do Bookmakers Close Betting Accounts?
It’s no secret that bookmakers limit betting accounts. While most casual bettors will never experience it, plenty of people get their betting accounts limited on their bet sites. And that brings up the question of why sportsbooks limit betting accounts. Well, there is more than one reason for it.
One of the main reasons why people get their betting accounts limited is the abuse of betting bonuses and promotions. Unfortunately, as weird as it may sound, bonus abuse is a thing, and sportsbooks don’t like it even though it’s completely legal and won’t get you in any trouble.
Even though it’s common for bookies to offer betting bonuses and promotions, they also don’t want you to abuse them, i.e. only taking advantage of the bonus and promotional wagers. While it sounds strange that a bookmaker is ready to punish players who take advantage of bonuses the bookie has offered, you have to remember that bookmakers don’t like it when they lose money.
Since we have already established that bookmakers don’t like to lose money, it makes sense that sportsbooks will limit accounts that win too much. Oddly enough, this is the main reason betting accounts are limited by a sportsbook, which might not sound fair or legal, but it is.
Sportsbooks don’t have to accept you as a customer, and they can decide to limit or close down your account anytime they like. So even though everyone joins a bookmaker to win money, you might want to pace yourself if you’re too good at it and lose a couple of bets here and there – or start using bookies that don’t limit winners.
- Using More Than One Account
Unlike the first 2 reasons, which might sound unfair, using more than one account essentially breaks the rules and is a legitimate reason a bookmaker will potentially close down your account. Often people will use 2 accounts to try and abuse bonuses and promotional offers, which, as we know, is something bookies don’t like.
One of the most obvious and common examples of 2-account abuse is if you open an account and another in your partner’s name, allowing you to claim 2 welcome bonuses and double your deposited money.
As of 2024, there aren’t as many instances of bookmakers closing down accounts of people who created 2 profiles, mainly because bookmakers have developed tools to help them identify potential duplicate accounts. Therefore, people don’t try to break the rules, knowing they’re likely to get caught.
Arbitrage betting is essentially a sure way to make money, and naturally, it’s something bookmakers don’t like. Although arbitrage betting is entirely legal, you are going to see your account limited or closed down if the bookmaker finds you doing it.
Even bookmakers without limits will penalize you if they believe you’re using arbitrage betting, so while it’s a sure way to make some short-term cash, it’s not worth having your name blocked for some pocket money.
You’re free to do it, but like how it’s with duplicate accounts, sportsbooks have, over the years, developed tools to help them identify people who arbitrage betting. And one of the biggest giveaways is betting with strange amounts.
- Betting with Strange Amounts
Betting with random amounts isn’t illegal, nor does it break any rules, but if you do it, you will be in danger of getting your betting account limited or closed down. That is because bookmakers will believe you’re arbitrage betting, and that’s a good enough reason for them to close your betting account.
For example, placing $5.43, $3.22, and $4.17 bets on 3 games rather than round numbers such as $5.40, $3.20, and $4.10 will be tagged as a potential arbitrage bettor. So our best piece of advice is to bet with round numbers.
Bookmakers will always follow what you’re doing on your betting account, and if they spot something out of the ordinary and flag your acc for weird behaviour, you might get limited or have your betting account closed down. Although no specific things will close your account, anything from using only bonuses, betting with weird amounts, or placing strange bets could be flagged as strange behaviour.
- Ignoring Bonuses and Promotions
While you shouldn’t use only betting bonuses and promotions, you shouldn’t avoid them, creating a weird situation where no extreme is good. While it may seem reasonable that bookmakers will be happy if you don’t use any bonuses, that’s not necessarily the case.
That is because just one group of bettors don’t care about bonuses – professional gamblers. And since professional gamblers usually make a lot of money betting on sports, bookmakers don’t want them on their websites and do everything in their power to identify them and limit their accounts.
So even if not intentional, you shouldn’t ignore bonuses and make the sportsbook believe you’re a pro gambler. Instead, grab a bonus here and there to convince the bookmaker you’re using that you’re a casual bettor.
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