Betfred Account Restriction Problems: A Guide to Resolution…

Has your Betfred account recently been limited or restricted? You are probably asking yourself why!

A lot of casual sports bettors aren’t aware of this practice, but it’s far more prevalent than the betting companies let on. Betfred limits betting accounts if they believe you are going to make money from them over the long term. It’s an unfortunate truth but all bookmakers use this method to limit winning sports bettors.

In that respect congratulations, if you are reading this, it is likely you are one of the rare long-term winners in sports betting. Which is good thing!

In this article we will cover a few subjects.

• Why Betfred places restrictions on betting accounts.
• How these limits and constraints come into play.
• The optimal way you can manage this scenario.

Hopefully, by the end, you’ll be in a far better position than you are now!

Why Does Betfred Stake Limit Bets?

Betfred limits betting accounts and stakes because it boosts their profit margins.

It is as straightforward as that, they are a business and at the end of the day. They will do everything in their power to increase their profit margins.

Typically, they only place limits on your sportsbook because they want to allow you full access to their casino games. That way if you are a shrewd punter but also like to play casino games. They can still profit from the casino side of their business.

Shutting down your account entirely would be counterproductive, so instead, they opt for this stealthier way of restriction. If you’ve used tools like Outplayed Pro you may have heard people call this a gubbing (a slang term used by matched bettors).

Consider the Betfred example slip below:

Upon submission, the red figures show the revised amount Betfred was willing to accept. It’s far from the worst I’ve seen, although the stake has been restricted to £14.25. By continually betting at value, this figure is reduced further until it’s something silly like £2.

Welcome to the world of dirty tactics employed by bookmakers.

Bookies are aware that this practice is unreasonable and not in line with their marketing, yet it remains within legal boundaries – and that’s why they proceed this way.

The most recent practice they seem to use is the exploitation of regulation and deposit limits. It’s just another tool to get your bank statements and avoid paying (only after you have deposited of course). If they’re going to limit your stakes to such minimal amounts, it’s almost equivalent to a subtle account closure. It’s like a covert way of sidelining you, but the gambling regulator allows it.

The criteria they use to decide these restrictions is rather shrewd…

How Does Betfred Choose Accounts to Restrict?

Betfred seems to employ a value factoring system, similar to numerous other leading betting firms. It doesn’t mean that your account or stakes will be restricted for simply winning, but more if you were routinely ‘beating the closing line’. In short if you consistently beat the closing odds, then they know long term you will make money.

Betting Strategies that will lead to restrictions or closure include:

• Matched Betting
• Arbitrage Betting
• Value Betting
• Beating the Betfair SP consistently (Horse Racing)
• Any live betting system that wins long term

Their models aim to detect when a user places bets with value. Grasping this concept is pivotal because it’s not strictly about the monetary gains or losses you’ve encountered. You might have endured a streak of unfavourable outcomes and lost a significant sum. Yet, Betfred is aware that, in the long run, you have the upper hand against them. Consequently, their algorithms prioritize identifying value over net profit.

By capping wager amounts, they can reduce the amount of value you can make.

For the mainstream bettor, this might be confusing. After all, some VIP clients could seemingly place wagers amounting to £2,000, £5,000, or even £10,000 per bet. The algorithm permits this because their betting choices tend to be of lesser value (meaning they’re more likely to lose over extended periods). There’s a video about this on our YouTube channel.

It is possible that if you chose to shift your betting habits to consistently opt for lower-value picks, it’s conceivable that Betfred might reconsider its restriction thresholds.

However making losing selections to try and get your betting limits restored, seems like a pointless exercise. It makes much more sense to move onto a new bookmaker or exchanges where your bets will allowed at larger stakes.

What to Do If Betfred Refuses to Pay You:

In today’s age, it’s not uncommon for bookmakers to find reasons to withhold payouts. Betfred is no exception, although I don’t believe them to be the worst. Despite what some people may say, it appears that the founder, Fred Done does care about his company’s reputation a little.

In many situations, Betfred and similar firms bank on the fact that most people won’t escalate such issues to legal channels. They’re well aware of the time, effort, and financial resources such endeavours demand. It’s essentially a sly move to wear you down, thereby sparing their coffers. After all, each year millions of betslips are never cashed in!

Betfred Complaints

If Betfred does deny a payout, I’d recommend submitting an IBAS complaint and subject access request to the company (template opens in a new tab here).

I can’t emphasize this enough: it’s imperative to adhere to the outlined protocol and commence with the preliminary steps if you aim for a favourable outcome. Typically, the initial phase shouldn’t take more than half an hour. Once you have been through the complaints procedure and IBAS has responded, you have a far higher chance of getting paid. In most cases, the company will just settle mid-request if they think you’re right.

Closing a Betfred Account

If you encounter such issues, my top recommendation would be to terminate your Betfred account. Request that they purge your information from their databases before considering signing up with a sharp betting service that won’t treat you like this!

By urging them to erase your data, you might be safeguarding your future interests. Frequently, these major betting corporations acquire smaller entities, which gives them the capacity to identify you as a profitable bettor down the line. This could potentially influence your betting in days to come.

While this step might not restore your betting account, it does ensure they have an added task on their plate and aids in averting potential future issues. Sadly, such account limitations and closures have become the norm in today’s betting landscape. Getting an account re-opened has a very low chance.

Can You Avoid Betfred Limiting Your Account

The only way to stop bookmakers from limiting or closing accounts is not to win money in the long term. Which should never be the goal of anyone that opens a betting account. A happy loser is the optimal customer for bookmakers, it is why they always try to present betting as something that is a bit of fun but should never be looked as a way to generate an income.

However, there are a few things you can do to extend the life of your betting accounts, avoiding early limitations.

• Prime your account – don’t make sharp bets straight after opening an account. Bookmaker risk teams like to profile bettors early on as sharp (winning) or square (losing)
• Avoid placing arbitrage bets – Arbitrage betting is a great way to earn some risk-free money but bookmakers do not tolerate arbitrage bettors for that long.
• Use accumulators when possible – If you can make value bets via accumulators then that is a great way of going under the radar for longer.
• Live betting – Live betting also tends to more difficult for bookmakers to pinpoint sharp betting patterns. If you have an edge in the live betting markets this is a good option.

Betfred Account Restrictions Concluded…

The regulatory bodies supervising Betfred’s processes just watch on while all this happens (with multiple bookies).

The proposal is leaning towards permanently allowing entities like Betfred to handle affordability checks. Betfred’s senior staff have said, on record, that they want more affordability checks in shops.

Within the bounds of the regulated market, there’s limited recourse available to the customer. If you’ve faced such issues, it’s essential to reach out to your MP and submit feedback to the UK Gambling Commission. The practice of limiting and restricting betting accounts remains contentious, and they need to be informed of such concerns!

Meanwhile, it’s probably best to look at alternative options (like betting exchanges).

Related: Rule 4 Price Deductions Explained in Full