Bettors are becoming more and more used to their accounts being suspended or, even worse, closed altogether.
Punters aren’t overly surprised any more when they go to login to their account only to discover that it isn’t an option for them any longer, but that doesn’t mean that such an experience isn’t annoying. Not only that but a fair few people won’t even know why it is that their account has been closed down, such is the extent to which bookmakers have become more inclined to close things down without much explanation to the punter.
The reality is that bookies can’t close down your account without any sort of reason, but the truth of the matter is that the reasons that they’ll come up with are usually tenuous at best. Once you have a sense of why it is that Betfair might have closed your account, you’ll be able to have a think about whether you’ve done any of the things that they normally use as the excuse to shut an account down and work back from there.
More often than not, the real answer as to why your account has been shut down is that you’ve won too many bets, used too many promotions or you have been limited with another brand in the same group.
BETDAQ An Ideal Betfair Alternative
If your Betfair account has been closed or limited then there is really only one alternative if you want something that has both an exchange and a fixed odds sportsbook, that would be BETDAQ. This is an exchange that has been around since almost as long as Betfair and they have ample liquidity for all major sports and markets, they also have a lower default commission rate compared to Betfair.
BETDAQ was owned by Ladbrokes for a period but in from 2013 but in 2021 it was bought back by its original owners. They launched a fixed-odds sportsbook in 2019, meaning you can literally do everything at this site you would do with Betfair. BETDAQ is clearly set up for proper punters with it’s no-nonsense fast and clean interface and wide choice of markets.
Legitimate Reasons For Account Closures
The first place to start is by looking at the legitimate reasons that Betfair might choose to shut down a punters’ account. When you sign up for an account with a betting company, you are also agreeing to the terms and conditions that they’ve put in place. You might not take the time to read the small print, largely because fee of us do, but that is where the information about what is and what isn’t allowed is contained. If you have violated any of the company’s terms and conditions then you’ll be in a situation where your account can no longer be used.
Some of these Ts & Cs are quite obvious and if you’ve been doing them then you’re hardly going to be shocked that your account is no longer active. If you’ve been using your account for money laundering purposes, for example, or you’ve been involved in match fixing and used your Betfair account in order to place a wager on an outcome that you already know about it. Similarly, if you’ve been placing bets whilst underage or using someone else’s payment details without their permission or in a fraudulent manner.
Not only will those things result in your account being closed but there is also a good chance that you will be reported to the police. With that in mind, you’re unlikely to be overly shocked that breaking the law is a situation in which your account will be suspended. There are other things that you might not realise are against the terms and conditions of your betting account, however. If you are believed to be engaging in arbing then that will likely reduce in an account suspension or closure, for example, as will taking the Mickey when it comes to offers and promotions.
People who use a VPN to access the site from a location they are not supposed to may also find their account closed or limited. While it isn’t illegal to use a VPN it goes against the terms of the site. If you are betting from abroad using a VPN and they find out about this you can expect your account to be suspended pretty quickly. The license they have for UK customers only applies to bets placed in the UK.
Another big reason why accounts get suspended or even closed is that your information can’t be verified. Know Your Customer is an important part of every bookmaker’s licensing agreement with the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, so if a bookie feels that you might not be who you say you are then they will have no choice but to close your account for fear of losing their licence. The biggest problem facing bookmakers nowadays is the risk of falling foul of money laundering obligations, so they will need plenty of information from you that you’re not going to do that.
Why Betfair Is Different
The reason why Betfair managed to make the big time in the first place is that the company launched as a betting exchange. This works differently from a fixed-odds bookmaker, with the punters essentially acting as the bookmaker for each other and Betfair taking a percentage from the winner.
As a result, Betfair couldn’t care less what happens in the exchange most of the time given the fact that the company will make money either way, provided you aren’t doing anything that breaks the terms and conditions in another way.
One thing to bear in mind, though, is the fact that Betfair is owned by the same parent company as Paddy Power and SkyBet. As a result, people that are using the exchange in order to take advantage of promotions on either of those two other companies might well find that their account gets closed.
You using the commission is a win-win for Betfair as they will get money either way, but if you’re abusing it in order to make money from promotions or offers of one of their other companies then you’re likely to be in trouble as a result.
Have You Won Too Much?
It is a sad fact that one of the main reasons why bookmakers close accounts is that people win too much. You might think that it is not right and you’d be correct, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. The more likely you win against a bookie, the less keen they will be to accept your bets.
They will start by limiting your account in various ways, such as setting a maximum stake amount that you can place, but over time, if you’re still winning, they’ll still do what they can in order to shut down your account entirely and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Things aren’t quite the same when it comes to the exchange, given the fact that Betfair doesn’t really care who wins bets on there as they’ll be taking a percentage regardless. That being said, if you do anything that goes against what Betfair considers to be fair play, that will result in a comeuppance for you.
It is entirely fine for the company to suspend your account any time the they feel it is appropriate to do so. You will have given them that right when you opened your account and therefore agreed to their terms and conditions.
Examples
If you want to get a sense of reasons why bookmakers might close someone’s account, forums are often a good place to turn. One user reported that Betfair had closed their account after just two bets, with no explanation given.
When they contacted the company, Betfair informed them that they needed to verify documents, but then they received an email stating that the company’s terms and conditions say that they can close down an account if they ‘suspect they’re acting illegally or fraudulently’, keeping hold of the money in the account.
It isn’t just in the UK that Betfair will close accounts out of nowhere either. A user in Australia claimed that their account was shut down. In his case, Adam Fraser, who was a professional golfer, decided to explore his legal options after the company closed down his account because he was using a stream that they said gave him an advantage over others. Fraser was betting In-Play, using the edge of a time delay for other bettors to win his wagers against them. That was on the exchange, proving that it isn’t just the fixed-odds punters that can be punished by Betfair.