You are only trying to make money by placing bets with the least risk. I understand that. However, sportsbooks also want even more of the money, and since they have the most control, they’ll do anything to stop you from winning too often, and that includes banning your account. In this post, I’m going to share 7 tips to not get banned arbitrage betting or using a positive EV strategy. If you start winning consistently, you may face some restrictions on your betting accounts. This could be limits on your betting amount, losing access to certain promotions, being blocked from betting on specific markets, or a ban.
I talk about arbitrage and positive EV betting a lot. While it will bring you money, you risk losing your account because sportsbooks don’t like consistent winners. So, you need to follow these tips to protect your betting accounts for as long as possible from being closed.
How to Not Get Banned Arbitrage Betting
1. Know How Bookmakers Categorize Your Account
First, get to know how bookies sort each customer. They usually divide customers into four main groups. This is a point I have made in my guides a lot. The first group is the casual bettor, which is the group we aim to be seen as. A bettor who hasn’t faced any restrictions and is betting just for fun is in the casual bettors’ group. Bookies see you as someone who brings them profit, so they want to keep you betting for as long as they can. They may even throw in extra bonuses and rewards to encourage you to keep betting with them.
The second level you are going to see is kind of a “let’s keep an eye on this person” situation. This is because the bookies have noticed some smart betting patterns or frequent use of promotions, and they want to make sure you aren’t only chasing promotions. So, they watch such accounts more closely.
The third group includes customers who seem to be exploiting promotions too much or making too many smart bets. For these bettors, bookies usually set up restrictions, like stopping promotions for them, and account limits, and they mostly only allow placing bets in markets that are not in their favor. I have written a guide to help prevent sportsbooks from limiting your account, so read up on that article.
The last group of customers is the one that bookmakers really dislike and often try to block or limit such accounts. This is because they find and take advantage of betting opportunities where the odds are in their favor, like in situations of arbitrage betting. Bookies can stop these customers from betting any money at all or allow them to bet only a small amount, like $10, which doesn’t allow profitable betting. So, if you are a betting arbitrageur, you want the sportsbook’s internal team of experts to see you as a casual bettor.
2. Sign Up on Sportsbooks with a Lower Ban Rate
Now, you have to realize that different betting sites or bookies ban users at different rates. Some, particularly the smaller or less trustworthy ones with less money, who typically follow questionable practices, are the ones you’d want to steer clear of because they can ban you very fast. They can even ban you just after one or two bets on a special deal, even if you have also placed some regular bets (mug betting) on their site.
Even some of the larger bookmakers, like Ladbrokes, can ban you quickly, often within a week, while others, like TAB, are more lenient and may let you bet, especially on promotional offers, for over a year if you have placed some regular bets from the beginning.
3. Avoid Any Betting Pattern that Sportsbooks Consider Suspicious
The next tip is to stay away from betting patterns that aren’t common among everyday bettors like Russian table tennis, for instance. Not many people watch or bet on these, so if you do, your bet will call the sportsbook’s attention. This is common for bets that are supposed to give you an edge, such as arbitrage bets or positive EVs, because there aren’t enough other bets to conceal yours.
You should also try not to bet on in-play markets a lot. Bets like these are on specific aspects of games. It could be how many points or assists there will be in an NBA game. While they do offer good chances to make money, betting on them too often could get your account flagged and banned quickly. So, stick to more common bets. It could be bets like which team will win or the total points scored in mainstream sports. These are usually safer if you want to avoid having your betting account limited. Meanwhile, you should see some of my recommendations for the safest sports to bet on.
It’s also kind of odd to bet on a race, like a horse race, the day before it takes place. This usually happens before they announce who’s racing or what the weather will be like on the day of the race. You end up placing your bet maybe 24 hours in advance. Most people who bet on races don’t do this. They usually bet a few minutes before the race starts, maybe after watching it on TV and deciding to put $10 on it. They don’t usually spend a lot of time analyzing the race beforehand. So, since many people don’t bet at that time, your bet is going to stand out. It could even be the only bet placed the day before, which makes it easy for the bookmaker to spot it and review your account.
4. Try to Do Mug Betting
Our fourth tip is for you to engage more in mug betting. I mentioned this before. Mug betting is much about acting like you don’t know what you are doing when you place your bets. That is, you just try to look as clueless as possible. This method can help you not get banned arbitrage betting. It will simply blend you into the group that bookmakers love—the group they allow to bet freely without keeping a close eye on their activities.
For mug betting, you will have to place simple bets, such as line bets, which are essentially like flipping a coin with a 50/50 chance. These markets are very balanced, and it’s hard for a bettor to gain any significant edge. For example, if you bet with odds of 1.9 on an event that should have odds of 2, you are just handing your money over to the bookmakers. They profit easily from this type of bet. This betting pattern categorizes you as a casual bettor, and ideally, it means the bookmakers won’t pay much attention to your account.
If you are opening a betting account, start with mug bets because bookmakers don’t know what kind of bettor you are at first. That first impression is really important for them to quickly figure out which category to put you in. If you start with a lot of mug bets, you could be considered an ideal customer. Later, when they are not paying much attention, you can start making more profitable arbitrage bets and positive EVs.
5. Size Appropriately and Reasonably
You can actually not get banned arbitrage betting if you bet with the right sizes and in a reasonable pattern. This means you should avoid placing bets in very specific amounts that look unusual, like $45.57, for example. This could signal an engagement in arbitrage, where you are trying to secure a guaranteed profit by placing another bet on a different site.
Instead, round your bets to more typical amounts, like $35 or $40, whichever works better for you. Regular bettors often place bets in round figures, such as $5, $10, or $15, and this is the kind of pattern you want to mimic as much as possible.
Sometimes, betting sites offer promotions, saying the maximum bet is $100 or the maximum payout is $50. Now, try not to bet the full amount, like the whole $50, because it will look like you are just trying to exploit the promotion. A better approach is to lower your bet to something like $30 or $40. It will still be taking advantage of the offer, but not in a manner that maximizes it.
6. Don’t Make Early Withdrawals
I get it, we all want to withdraw our investments as soon as possible. But for a pro bettor who is considering arbitrage betting in the long run, you want to avoid these withdrawals to keep your account below the radar. The suggestion isn’t that you should never withdraw your money until your account is closed – No. However, when you do withdraw, it prompts the bookmaker to review your account. They just want to know the kind of customer they are dealing with, especially if they see you are winning money.
A typical sportsbook will check your betting strategies, which we’d prefer to avoid, especially if you are winning through arbitrage betting and positive EV. So, if you don’t absolutely need the cash, don’t withdraw it. The exception to this rule is if you are dealing with a less trustworthy sportsbook or bookmaker, like some of the smaller ones in Australia. These operators can freeze your account citing suspicious activity or request personal information, like your bank statement, to verify if you can afford your bets. This can be a tactic to prevent winners from withdrawing. After you face any limits, you can go ahead and withdraw. They typically won’t block you from taking your money out.
7. Keep Your Expectations in Check
This final tip isn’t really a tip but more like a piece of advice. You have to accept that if you are consistently winning, sportsbooks will eventually take away their special deals. They can limit your betting amount if you are making guaranteed profit bets like arbitrage bets, or in worse cases, just ban the account. Sincerely, there’s no foolproof method to avoid this. You can’t hide your betting habits forever; the best you can do is extend the time you can use your account. This is because bookmakers earn their money through customers. If they start losing this money, that doesn’t fit their business plan. They need to earn revenue to cover the costs of paying employees, website maintenance, and funding their marketing campaigns. So, they can’t afford to let someone continuously withdraw funds from their business without restrictions.
Conclusion
So, here you have it, 7 strategies you can introduce to not get banned arbitrage betting or placing positive EV bets. What you should remember is that the primary goal isn’t just to keep your account going for as long as possible. Instead, you should be trying to make as much profit as you can from the bookie before they ban your account. If you can secure more time, it can mean more profit, but if your earnings are getting smaller every month, it may not be worth trying too hard to keep the account under the radar. Sometimes, you just have to take advantage of more promotions or bet bigger on those sharp opportunities to win. Even if you end up getting banned, you could end up making more money than if you spent a lot of effort making safe bets just to hide your strategy and end up losing money on those.