How can you not get banned & caught arbitrage betting 2023
Finding a loophole at a bookmaker is exciting…but…getting banned for arbitrage betting after 1 day it not.
Being a professional sports bettor has its advantages and drawbacks too.
While you are making good profits from betting as a smart bettor, you face several obstacles.
One of the biggest problems of bettors is getting their accounts limited or banned.
I’ve been betting as a professional bettor since 2013.
I have faced different kinds of limitations throughout these years and tried to avoid them as much as possible.
In this article, I would like to share my experience with 14 important points on delaying being banned or limited at bookmakers.
It is more realistic to call it delay because, in the long run, you do not stand a chance to avoid being limited and banned by bookmakers if you are a winning player.
There are some exceptions like the best arbitrage friendly bookmakers or the best solutions for smart bettors such as betting brokers.
How how to not get caught arbitrage betting?
1. Do not deposit too much for the first time
Arbitrage bettors are used to placing bets with more significant stakes.
When a new betting account is registered, it is desirable to start your betting strategy at full speed.
For this, most strategies need more money than a standard deposit.
Most bookmakers are offering bonuses for the first deposit with a maximum amount of 100 – 200 euros.
Keeping this in mind, the first deposit of 500-700 euros would be unusual.
Average bettors are not depositing that much money for the first time.
It is more common to deposit the maximum possible to get the whole bonus.
Depositing that much money for the first time can even flag you from the start.
For arbitrage betting in the USA, this amount might be similar. Even a deposit of $2,000 at some bookies is normal.
There are a lot of examples of bettors who had their account limited before even placing the first bet.
Another unpleasant outcome could be banning your account without even placing a single bet.
I know it is hard to build up your balance from a smaller deposit, but getting limited this way is very painful.
Imagine that you are an arbitrage bettor limited from the start, and you have to complete the rollover requirements on blackjack or roulette.
Based on my arbing experience, I can say that depositing money gradually more and more is the best way if you want to avoid getting flagged.
Under this rule can be exceptions to the sharp bookmakers (Pinnacle sports review) or the betting brokers.
2. Do not deposit too much in a short period at the same bookmaker
Arbitrage bettors are using fairly big stakes for most of the bets. While arbing, you can experience significant balance fluctuations.
Depending on the type of sport you are betting on, this could mean even more significant fluctuations.
For example, with using arbitrage as a tennis betting system, I experienced a loss of almost 10k euros on the side of the soft bookmaker.
Depending on the country you are from it would be a wise decision not to deposit too much in a short period.
For example, depositing 8-10k euros in 2-3 weeks could mean a flag on your account if you are from a less developed country.
In a country where the average monthly wage is 400-500 euros, that much deposit in the short term could cause trouble for you.
Bookmakers can ask for proof of income, which is not easy to get most of the time.
This kind of problem is not common, but it is helpful to keep in mind.
Relevant article:
Are you satisfied with your arbitrage/value betting service?
If you are open to trying a new/better software check my in-depth list of the best arbitrage bet finders.
3. Do not start with big stakes, will get your account limited fast
Most soft bookmakers are sensitive to new customers.
Starting your first bet with big stakes could lead your account to get limited in the early stage of your betting activity.
An average bettor, in the beginning, is placing bets with only a fraction of the balance.
It requires a lot of patience to place bets with small amounts, but after my experience, it is worth the time and energy.
I would suggest using the 5% – 10% of your balance for the first 15-20 bets at least.
4. Avoid cashing out too often
If you are not arbitrage betting, thus not covering the other outcome of your bets, try not to use the cash-out option.
The cash-out option is reducing your winning in the long run. In a lot of cases cashing out could seem a very logical decision.
For example, if the value bet does not seem valuable anymore.
Every time I used this option in the long run, I ended up with less profit than I would have without cashing out.
The differences in my case were between 10% – 15%.
From my experience, most bookmakers tend to limit you faster if you are using the cash-out option too often.
5. In the beginning place average bets to delay the limitation of your betting account
An excellent practice to distract attention from your account is placing the usual bettor kind of bets.
I am thinking about placing low-stake bets on big leagues and bets with more selections.
Placing this kind of bet with stakes of 1-5 EUR will not drive you into bankruptcy, but your account will pass the early filters.
But arbitrage bettors said it is wise to place arbs on only 1 sport without mixing them.
6. Do not abuse promotions and bonuses
Even if your primary activity is the no-risk matched betting (taking advantage of only the bonuses), it is healthy to place bets when you do not have an active bonus.
Depositing and placing bets only when you have a bonus or any kind of promotion will get your account flagged.
Abusing only the bonuses will lead to the limitation of your account.
7. Do not ignore bonuses and promotions if you do not want to get limited
This might sound strange, but ignoring bonuses and promotions can lead to faster limitations of your account.
Normal bettors accept sign-up bonus offers if they are offered with acceptable roll-over requirements.
Even though they get double their money, they lose it fairly fast.
A bettor who is not requesting any kind of betting bonus and is making profits can face limitations on the betting account.
Bonuses at sports betting sites are marketing tricks, and a bettor who is not accepting a gift becomes suspicious.
8. Do not withdraw your money right after you completed the rollover requirements
Withdrawing your money right after you complete the rollover requirements is a direct sign that you are a bonus hunter.
Withdrawing money this way could lead to stricter security checks and to the limitation of your betting account.
Some additional bets are easy to complete, and you can avoid this kind of inconvenience.
9. Do not withdraw your money too often
Every time we withdraw our money, it goes through some inspection.
If you are an arbitrage bettor, value bettor, or any kind of smart bettor, your first intention should be to avoid any kind of attention.
Staying under the radar at bookmakers is the only viable way of delaying any kind of limitation on your betting accounts.
10. Round your stakes on every bet to avoid fast limitations
Rounding your stakes is one of the most mentioned tips on avoiding being limited and banned by bookmakers.
Even though you come across this tip in every blog, I have to note that it is one of the most basic but still very important.
In my early stages of being an arbitrage bettor, I placed many bets with stakes like 32.5 eur, 47.8 eur, and so on.
I was lucky enough because not all of the bookmakers were advanced sufficient in catching arbitrage bettors back then.
These days making this kind of noob mistake will ruin a valuable account quickly.
Rounding your stakes is a must!
For example, 32.5 =>32 or better to 30 or 35.
The stake of 47.8 should be 48 at least, but better 50 or 45.
You can cover your bets at sharp bookmakers with not rounded stakes.
Bookmakers like Pinnacle do not care about this, but the part of the soft bookmaker should have a rounded stake in your arbitrage bets.
11. Do not use maximum stakes
If you are not limited at all, it is advised that your stakes on your bets should be a maximum of 70% – 80% of the max stake allowed by the bookmaker.
Placing bets this way will delay the limitation on your accounts.
If the bookmaker has already lowered your maximum stakes, there is no other way to place bets than maxing the stakes out.
12. Avoid small leagues as much as possible
After opening a new account at a bookmaker, one of the most important steps in smart betting strategies is to avoid small leagues or tournaments.
In the beginning, bookmakers are very sensitive to bettors who are placing bets on minor leagues.
This has several reasons:
- It is harder for the bookmaker to define sharp odds
- Pieces of information and stats are more often delayed so smart bettors like value bettors or arbitrage bettors can take advantage of it more often
In the early stage of an account, I advise you to stay away from lower leagues, but after a fairly large number of bets, you can place on some of them too.
For example, I’m starting to place bets on the second league, and third league after 30-40 bets.
If you want to use a mathematical tennis betting strategy it is good to skip betting on ITF tournaments.
Most of the bookmakers I used limited me in a short period of time after betting on them.
13. Do not bet on too big odd and line mistakes
Bookmakers are becoming more advanced in being fast and giving sharp odds.
No matter how fast they are, sometimes even the best bookmakers make huge mistakes.
This kind of mistake could be not realizing a red card or a goal fast enough, being a little bit late in tennis, or missing the point in basketball.
A mistake like this could mean a big opportunity for a smart bettor.
Most of us are using scanner services to spot good opportunities.
An arbitrage that jumped up by 15% could seem promising, an almost guaranteed profit on your bet.
Occasionally taking advantage of these big mistakes can let you escape without any limitation on your betting account.
But have in mind that bookmakers have serious algorithms to filter out bettors with these bets.
Betting on fairly big arbitrage opportunities can lead to being limited and banned by bookmakers.
I would not advise placing bets on arb higher than 3% in pre-match arbitrage and value betting.
Also, most arbitrage bettors are placing bets on the day of the match.
In Live betting, it is harder for the bookmakers to catch you as a smart bettor, but even this way, I would advise avoiding betting on arbs higher than 6%.
You can make more money if your account stays without a limit in the long run.
14. Do not get caught as a multiple-account user
Smart betting strategies are very hard to sustain with your own betting accounts.
It is known that smart bettors are using the accounts of friends and family at least after getting limited on their own.
Getting caught with multiple accounts is a direct way of losing your money. Personally, I do not know bookmakers who are giving you back your money if they flagged you as a multiple account user.
You might also want to read my article on arbitrage betting between sharp betting sites and exchanges.
It will help you clear your mind from unnecessary ideas.
Tips to not get banned for arbitrage betting
- Don’t deposit too much for the first time (even in wealthier countries, the first deposit with more than 500 euros can be a red flag)
- Avoid betting on small leagues like ITF in tennis, brazil junior league in football, etc. Most of the time, normal bettors place bets on first-league matches…most of the time.
- Round stakes: do not place stakes like 51 euros, or 35.5 euros. Round them up or down (50 euros, 35 euros); this way, they can’t flag you so easily as an arbitrage bettor or smart bettor in general.
- It helps if you start with accumulator bets and sometimes mix your bets with these ones too.
- It is wise to avoid placing bets with too big value: for example, an arbitrage opportunity of 6-8% can flag your account even in live betting.
- Do not request money withdrawal from your account until you are limited (my personal experience)
- Avoid using the maximum available stake; it is healthier to place like 60-70% of it.
- Do not use bookmakers with bad reputations (there are several websites to check them). They might require too many documents for verification, some extreme ones too (selfie in front of your home with id beside your head). And even then, they can confiscate your money.
How Do Bookies Know You Are Arbitrage Betting?
Placing bets on the wrong odds is not a new thing.
A lot of bettors made a fortune after the year 2000.
It took a while for bookmakers to start spotting smart bettors, because back then the algorithms were not so well developed.
Their best chance of limiting or banning arbers was only in the moment when they already made a lot of money.
At present, bookies have way more tools to filter out smart betting activities.
One of the biggest signs of being a smart bettor is using a market that is getting too many bets from others at the same time.
An overpriced outcome will be noticed not only by smart bettors but the bookies too.
If you are taking advantage of these obviously wrong odds too many times, your account will be flagged.
The biggest signs for bookmakers are:
- betting on small leagues
- placing stakes that are not rounded
- placing bets multiple times on the same outcome
- if not a generally accepted bettor: an account from a woman is already a red flag, but one with an age above 50-60 years old will automatically flag an account for suspicious activity.
Avoid the limitation of your bookmaker account: is it important?
Bookmakers are the most reliable resource for smart bettors like value bettors or arbitrage bettors.
Soft bookmakers are the basis of making money fairly easily from sports betting.
Depending on which country you are from, the number of bookmakers is limited.
Getting your account limited at a bookmaker means:
- You have to find another or clone bookmaker with similar odds, market, and line to continue your smart betting activity
- You have to find friends, family, or other people who can give you their accounts.
Getting and using other people’s betting accounts can be hard sometimes.
After a longer period of time, it is getting a less and less sustainable way of making money from sports betting.
Down below, I’m mentioning most of the tips on how to delay the limitations on your betting accounts.
How to not get caught as a multiple account user at bookmakers
Even now, some bookmakers do not have an advanced enough system to spot every multi-account user.
For some of them, it is enough to restart your router and get a new IP address and delete your cookies.
But there are big players among bookmakers who have developed their security systems to a new level.
Some of them can even check the size of your monitor, iesnare, and the type of system you are betting from.
In this case, reinstalling your windows is not enough all the time.
Using a windows virtual machine and a good VPN like ExpressVPN my favorite one with a dedicated IP address could solve the case.
Why do bookies hate arbitrage bettors so much?
The simple answer for why bookies dislike or hate arbers would be that you are not losing money in the long run.
Arbitrage bettors are aiming for bets with wrong odds, and weak lines.
This kind of mistake most of the time is happening at soft bookmakers.
Exploiting these arbitrage loopholes is giving you an advantage over bookmakers, one with a guaranteed profit.
Why do bookmakers dislike or hate arbitrage bettors?
Bookmakers are companies with services to offer the environment and the possibility of placing bets on sports events.
The goal of a company is to grow and to make more and more profit.
On the other hand, arbitrage bettors are not simple recreational bettors who bookmakers welcome.
Arbers are searching and finding loopholes (arbitrage bets) at bookies to make a guaranteed profit on them.
The biggest reason bookies dislike and try to block and limit smart bettors is that they target only these weak lines and overpriced outcomes.
If an odd is too different from the rest of the market (odds on the same market at other bookies), it means that the price is above the true probability.
- Every time a bookmaker offers an odd that is higher than the real probability of it, the bookie’s profits are in “danger.”
It is common for bookies to copy odds and lines from each other to balance the whole market.
- Any discrepancy between each other will create sure bets for the smart bettor.
How are bookmakers stopping arbitrage bettors?
- The first step in stopping an arbitrage bettor is by catching them. For this, most bookmakers have well-developed filtering systems and algorithms for arbitrage bettors.
- Limiting your maximum stakes: gradually (first time halving than later to 1 or 0 euros) or to 1 or 0 euros from the start
- Asking for weird documents at the withdrawal for verification
- Locking your account
If you are an arbitrage bettor, you have to be prepared for any possibility. At the stage of KYC (know your customer) if you are flagged as an arbitrage bettor, you can face a more serious inspection.
Can you get banned for arbitrage betting?
Yes, you can get banned for arbitrage betting. The algorithms at bookmakers are constantly searching for arbitrage bettors. If you get flagged as an arbitrage bettor, bookmakers limit your maximum stakes. A lot of bookmakers are even banning arbitrage bettors who are exploiting too big, obvious mistakes.
The arbitrage bettors who are betting on markets with big mistakes like arbs of 10% or higher are more likely to get banned from that bookmaker.
Also, most smart betting strategies and arbing will result in making the bookies lose money.
As in other gambling activities in sports betting, too, if the house can see that it won’t get any money from you, the first act is kicking you out in various ways.
Read my article about arbing on parlay bets and find out if this can be a possible solution for avoiding limitations!
This technique is based on guaranteed profit and betting without risk, so at the moment a bookie finds out that you are one of “THEM,” they stop offering you services.
You won’t be asked to stop this activity; most probably, you will experience being limited or banned from one moment to another.
If you get banned from a bookmaker for arbitrage betting, you can face various situations.
One of them is that you lose all of your profits and get back only the deposited amount.
This is very unlikely because this action is only taken when they have a serious suspicion that the account was stolen.
Any kind of fraudulent activity connected to the account can cause this too.
If you are afraid of being banned right at the beginning, placing arbs with a return under 1% is the safest option you can choose.
For this, even a free arbitrage finder can be the proper tool.
Can a betting site ban you from winning?
Betting sites or bookmakers can ban you if you are winning too much.
However, bookmakers don’t ban each bettor who has a little bit of luck, and their balance grows.
In my experience, if you start winning at a bookmaker, their first move is to give you a lower maximum stake limit.
To be banned by a bookmaker, they have to be sure that you are a winning player in the long run too.
You have to be a smart bettor using strategies like arbitrage betting, value betting, or other kinds of smart betting strategies.
As I already mentioned, if a smart bettor is caught taking advantage of wrong odds or lines, the account will get gubbed/limited or even banned.
But what about the accounts that are not caught with this kind of technique?
In my experience, a value betting software can be your best tool to stay under the radar.
With the right market and stake selection, you can pass those filters that would catch you for smart betting.
If you are lucky enough to know a sport well enough to avoid the obvious mistakes in generating odds, yet still make a profit in the long run, you can avoid being banned or limited for a long time.
You can check my BetBurger Review and find out how this software is able to offer the chance of guaranteed profits for so many bettors.
It’s obvious that if you start winning bigger amounts, they will notice it and at least your maximum stake limits will be lowered.
Simple punters who are lucky enough to make bigger profits are less likely to get banned.
This is the reason for us smart bettors to learn, get more experience to make them believe we are just some lucky guys.
Can bookies keep your money?
Bookmakers are very careful to preserve their good reputation. They do not want to keep your money if you won it in a fair way.
However, if a bookmaker flags your account for dubious activities, they can close your account.
An account closure like this could lead to the confiscation of your balance.
This closure means that your betting activity is prohibited in their terms and conditions.
This kind of activity could be depositing money and withdrawing it without rolling it over.
Activities that can be related to money laundering are taken very seriously.
Some bookmakers are well known for their bad behaviour.
Some bookmakers do not need any good reason to keep their money.
Before depositing to a bookmaker, check some reviews about them so you can be sure that you get your winnings.
I heard stories about cases when the possessor of the account had to go to a head office for a further check.
This kind of inspection is rare, but you have to be prepared.
Most of the time, if you are the possessor of the account, you do not have to worry about your money.
Conclusion: Avoid being gubbed and limited
In smart sports betting, we have to pay attention to a lot of rules to not get early limitations on our betting accounts.
Even though we can pay attention to these rules, totally avoiding limitations at soft bookmakers is almost impossible.
When the balance grows too fast, you win too much it is not avoidable to get limited.
Relevant article: Matched betting USA
