Why do Bookmakers Close Betting Accounts?

Online betting is a highly regulated business, and online bookmakers operate under stringent Terms and Conditions. These give them ample means to close or severely limit their user’s accounts, even though most new customers just gloss over them, or simply don’t read them at all.

Sometimes, in cases of obvious rules violations, these actions are justified. Other times they are frustrating and downright unfair. In this article, we’ll try to understand why online bookies close and limit accounts, and how to avoid that happening to you.

Top Reasons Why Bookmakers Close Accounts

Winning Too Much

Possibly the most questionable reason, limiting and closing the accounts of users who are too successful is a sadly common practice. Basically, online bookmakers exist to make a profit. If you’re too damaging to this end goal, you might just get cut off.

Promotion Abuse

Betting sites don’t like customers who only bet on promotional offers. These bonuses exist to bring in new business, after which you’re expected to become a regular customer. Milking betting promotions and free bets too much can quickly end your punting career with the bookmaker in question.

Betting Arbitrage

As we discussed in our article about Betting Arbitrage, while not technically illegal, this practice is a clear violation of user agreements with pretty much every online bookmaker. Arbitrage is basically a sure-fire way of making a profit, and it should be clear why bookies have zero-tolerance toward it.

Multiple Accounts

Another clear violation of most user agreements, having multiple accounts per person is usually done to take advantage of betting site welcome bonuses multiple times. Between KYC verification, IP address tracking, and many other methods of figuring it out – this usually doesn’t fly for long.

Tips for Avoiding Account Closing

First of all, online bookmakers try to identify professional gambles who try to abuse the system for their own gain. Obviously, bookies hate such behaviour and are quick to shut it down. Here’s how to avoid looking like a professional punter:

• Bet round numbers. Odd amounts occasionally point towards punters with long-term plans for profits. They are also an indicator of betting arbitrage.
• Make use of promotions and bonuses. This might seem paradoxical given one of the reasons listed above, but professional gamblers tend to ignore these completely. Make sure to take advantage of some bonuses, but not bet on such offers exclusively.
• Diversify your betting. As previously stated, professional gamblers usually target specific markets and ignore everything else. Bookmakers occasionally track user activity in order to identify problematic customers, so checking out all sorts of different offers is a good idea.

Beyond that, here are a few more ideas on how to make sure a bookmaker does not close your account:

• Start small. Do not immediately go into high-stakes bidding. It’s possible to keep a positive net balance and not attract unwanted attention from the bookmaker.
• Make use of Betting Exchanges. In these cases, where punters bet against each other, bookmakers are much less likely to take issue with you winning.
• Keep track of your bankroll. This is a good idea for many reasons, but knowing how much you’ve taken from and/or given to a specific online bookie will help you understand how good of a customer they consider you.

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