Why Do Bookmakers Suspend Accounts?

Did you know you could have your betting account suspended at any time by a bookmaker? Perhaps you have and you’re wondering why? Well, there are many reasons why a bookie may take this action and most of the major UK online bookmakers will have systems in place which do this.

If this has happened to you, or you’re intrigued to know as to why a bookmaker may limit or suspend account then you’ve come to the right place. Below you’ll find some of the more common reasons as to why this may happen.

Reasons Bookmakers Suspend Accounts

Matched Betting and Arbing

One of the more common reasons is if the bookmaker believes you are using a matched betting or arbitrage betting system, which is generally considered to be an abuse of bonuses or odds differences.

Matched betting is a process of generating a profit from the free bets and other betting offers available at bookmakers. A profit can be locked in regardless of whether bets win or lose which makes it a tempting proposition for many bettors.

For example, if you received a £10 free bet for the World Cup, you’d be able to turn it into around £7.50 cash using matched betting by covering all outcomes.

Although a profit can be locked in using arbing too, it works slightly differently to matched betting and involves simply backing a bet with a bookmaker and laying the bet on a betting exchange. Arbing only works when the back odds are greater than the lay odds. As many of these profitable situations arise each day, arbing has become extremely popular.

There is nothing wrong with doing arbing or matched betting as a player, and it is not illegal, but bookmakers do not take kindly to it and they do have a habit of suspending accounts if they suspect a player of doing this. This is also a similar case with the hedging betting strategy. Essentially, all of these methods take value away from the bookmaker and so it’s not surprising that they’re not a fan of it.

Winning Too Often

Yes, you really can have your account suspended if you win too much or too often. It may sound like a sore loser tactic but if a player is withdrawing more than they are depositing over a period of time a bookie may take it upon themselves to prevent you from playing.

Can a bookmaker refuse your bet? Yes, they can. After all they are a business and are in the game to make money. There are ways to avoid this and betting with a bookmaker that offers high limits is a good way around it. Bwin are particularly good for this, alongside BetVictor and 10Bet.

Third Party Betting

This will be in all the terms and conditions of your account when you sign-up to a bookmaker, so don’t be surprised if you see your account suspended if you are found to be betting on behalf of someone else.

You may even lose any winnings in such cases and be stripped of your account. There are many reasons why a bookmaker will do this, with the likes of preventing fraud, stopping underage gambling and protecting vulnerable people among the top reasons. 

Letting someone else use your account will also result in a similar outcome.

Using A VPN To Disguise Your Location

All UK bookmakers are licensed to operate in this specific country and all players must be living within the borders when playing. During the sign-up process players must prove they are a resident of the country. This can usually be done automatically using the details entered on the registration form but sometimes players are required to provide identification documents such as a passport, driving licence or utility bill.

Despite this, many try and get around this by using a VPN to bet with British sportsbooks. Many attempt to access UK betting sites from abroad when on holiday in order to place bets. Players doing this usually have no ill intentions but this is against the law and against the terms of service with a bookmaker. Therefore, any players found to be using a VPN or betting from a different country may see their account suspended sharpish.

Of course, there are other reasons as to why you’d use a VPN, security reasons for example. In such cases, do be aware that it could arouse suspicion and potentially lead to your account being suspended.

Insider Information & Fixing

It goes without saying that if you are found to be using insider information or be involved with match fixing then not only will your account be blocked, it could also lead to criminal charges.

This is fraud and any players will be reported to police. 

Equally, any suspicious betting patterns will also lead to suspension and could in turn lead to prosecution if on the wrong side of the law too. In some cases this could happen accidentally, so if you are suspended for this reason and it isn’t the case, then it is worth speaking to the bookmaker’s customer service team and they will be able to help in reinstating your betting account.

Multi-Accounting

Multi-accounting is another reason why you may find your bookmaker accounts suspended. Only one account is allowed per customer but some attempt to open multiple accounts, usually with the aim of taking advantage of a certain bookmakers betting offers multiple times.

Bookmakers can often detect customers who are multi-accounting using a variety of methods. One being the IP address accounts are accessed from. However, you can be sure that betting sites use additional methods to detect this sort of behaviour.

Depending on the violation, bookmakers may choose to suspend or restrict your account. Some will still allow you to access your account and place bets but limit the amount you can bet with them. For example, you may be limited to a max stake of £10 on certain markets or sports ot limited to placing bets where you can win up to a set amount. There are some bookies which do not limit bets which are a popular choice with punters who have been restricted at several bookmakers.