Those new to sports betting may be surprised at how many restrictions bookmakers have. Contrary to the promises they make, traditional bookmakers limit you in many ways: it’s almost impossible to be free in terms of tactics you can use, bonuses you can claim, and money you can earn. In this article, we’ll go over these restrictions in detail and talk about what you can do to try your luck freely. But if you want to start playing right away, you can find a list of the best bookmakers that don’t restrict bettors at nolimitbookmakers.com.
How do bookmakers limit you?
User agreements, which you approve without reading while signing up, limit many aspects of what you can do on the bookmaker’s site and include heavy sanctions that may result in the cancellation of your account in case of violation. Below, you can find the most important of them.
Arbitrage restriction
Arbitrage, in its simplest definition, is the guarantee of making a certain profit by making two bets on two opposing outcomes. For example, let’s say that if Team A wins, 25 units of payout are offered, and if Team B wins, 22 units of payout can be won. If a bettor deposits 10 units for both outcomes, he or she will spend a total of 20 units, but it is guaranteed that he/she will make a profit of at least 2 units, regardless of the outcome. Arbitrage betting is a prohibited activity in most bookmakers that can even lead to account cancellation.
“Suspicious” pattern restriction
A bookmaker may refuse to pay you or even close your account because your betting pattern is “irregular”. The problem is that there is no clear definition of what an irregular pattern is, and any strategy that gives you an edge can be described as “suspicious”. For example, placing multiple bets in a row for unconventional events can trigger the bookmaker’s algorithm.
Deposit and withdrawal restrictions
Both deposits and withdrawals always have a minimum and maximum limit. It would be wrong to define the minimum limit as a restriction, since it is natural to set a limit for the lowest amount of money you can deposit (or withdraw from) a bookmaker, no matter how low. However, this does not apply to maximum limits, and they can be quite restrictive. In some cases, they may even cause you to withdraw a large payout you have earned in installments over a long time.
Payout restrictions
You may be surprised to hear that most bookmakers have a maximum payout limit. This is different from the withdrawal limit. This is the maximum amount the bookmaker can pay you, no matter how much you win. On some sites, this limit may even be as low as 100,000 units. So, for example, if you win 120,000 units, you will be deemed to have given up 20,000 units.
Bonus restrictions
Claiming a bonus is easy with bookmakers but wagering it can be overwhelming. Wagering means placing real money bets until you reach a total amount determined by the bookie. However, you are subject to many restrictions in this process. For example:
- It can be decided that you can only wager straight bets, so you cannot benefit from options such as point spread or total betting.
- It can be decided that only bets with a certain minimum rate (e.g., 1.20) will contribute to the wagering process.
- You may even be prohibited from withdrawing until the wagering process ends.
What can you do against bookmakers’ restrictions?
All you can do is sign up with a bookmaker that doesn’t limit you. Like any business that offers an online service, bookies are free to set their own terms for their service (as long as it’s lawful). If you join a bookmaker with many restrictions, you agree to these terms – it’s that simple. The only thing you can do is read the user agreement carefully before signing up and choose bookies with as few restrictions as possible.
