Jimmy Boyd in 
If you are going to learn how to bet on sports then you are likely going to try to win. The problem is that the sportsbooks aren’t in the business of paying out money to their clients, they want to make a profit. One of the tools sportsbooks have to prevent losing is to limit, ban, or restrict winning bettors and make it more difficult for them to profit.
In this guide, we will look at the different actions that may cause a bookie to ban or limit your account, which sportsbooks tend to enforce these restrictions, and what you can do in order to delay or prevent it from happening to you.
Reasons Why Sportsbooks Limit Winning Players
Profit Management
Sportsbooks are a business and the goal of any business is to make a profit. The way the bookies do this is by trying to take balanced action and have bettors lose the vig.
They may also shade the line so more money comes in on the “square” sides of the game and take a position on the sharp side, knowing that over time they are going to win by being on the right side of the game.
Taking bets and moving the odds works in liquid markets. If there is a lot of action the books can afford to take wagers, move the line, then have additional money come in to balance out the risk.
In illiquid markets there isn’t a lot of additional money that comes in and the sportsbooks are exposed. They might be left with a position on a game that isn’t the side that they want.
Players who consistently win can help books create sharper lines, but if the book doesn’t get enough action then they are paying out winning players without taking enough money from losing bettors to cover it.
If you are taking the top down approach of playing the steam from sharp books at recreational books, you really aren’t giving them any new information. You are just quicker to hit their stale odds than they are to move the number and will likely give you a quick limit if caught.
That is why players who win at small books or beat the smaller markets like player props tend to get the boot or their limits drastically reduced. These books want mushes and not sharps.
Criminal Activity
Sportsbooks are highly regulated. Their licenses depend on following the laws of the state or country in which they reside.
That is why they have a very low tolerance for any activity that tries to go around these rules. Here are some obvious examples.
- Underage Gambling – they will not tolerate minors breaking the law by betting on their site
- Location – if you use a VPN or another tool to mask your location and get around the geofencing. You can’t be in states where it’s illegal just because you live in a state that allows it.
- Fraud – if you sign up for multiple accounts, or if you sign up other people and use their accounts to get around limits.
Professional Betting Groups
One way professional bettors get around limits is to use groups of accounts to get more down before the line moves. Obviously, sportsbooks want to take bets from respected bettors, move the number, and re-open for action. The best books use auto movers so the odds update immediately when they get respected action.
However, not everyone has this technology in place. If one of the best sports handicappers in the world releases a game and thousands of followers immediately log in and bet on it, the book is going to take more action on that side than they probably want. Do this enough times and you could see yourself getting limited.
Professional bettors use the same tactic. Create a bunch of accounts at the same place, or get accounts from players across the country, then hit all of them at exactly the same time. This allows you to bet way more on an individual game than you could if you had a single account.
Bonus and Promotion Abuse
Recreational books use bonus offers to entice bettors to get in the action. However, if all you are doing is depositing money to collect a bonus, rolling it over to meet the minimum requirement, and then withdrawing the money the book may limit your bonuses or kick you out.
They want real, genuine players and not users who are just there to exploit the promotions.
Changing Betting Patterns
One thing professional bettors always look to do is “turn a whale.” This means finding a large, losing bettor who has high limits and using them as a beard to get sharp action down in large amounts. The sportsbooks will try to detect the change in betting patterns from a player.
An example might be someone who bets the board on the NFL each Sunday to only bet big on small conference college football totals. Or all of a sudden the whale has taken an interest in betting college basketball during football season when they never have before.
The key when turning a whale is that the player still has to make the same wagers with the professionals added in on top. Sometimes they will even lose enough on their own that the book doesn’t mind the sharp action coming in as well.
Inside Information
If a player is getting information quicker than the book that might be a problem. Some guys troll Twitter all day and once news breaks of injuries, trades, or lineups they rush to place their bets. The books don’t even have time to adjust the odds based on the new information before bettors start hammering in their wagers.
Sportsbooks hate these guys because they are going to win long-term and they get their info before the books do.
Sportsbooks That Don’t Limit Winners
There are only a few sportsbooks that winners are welcome at. Circa is the most popular that you’ll find in the States. They have a location in Las Vegas but are also available via an app in several states.
When it comes to betting online you have a few more options. Pinnacle, Bookmaker, and BetOnline all welcome professional action and are places that we trust.
Betting exchanges can also be good. Since you are competing against other players and not the book itself the exchange does not care if you win or lose. However, you don’t see many exchanges in the United States at this point.
Conclusion
Those are just some of the reasons bookies might decide to limit or ban a player’s account at their sportsbook. You can use some of these tricks to avoid being limited or just delay the inevitable. But, in the end, the sportsbooks are there to make money and if you are beating them consistently then you are likely to see your account get restricted in some fashion.