How To Not Get Banned For Arbitrage Betting? – 14 Tips

Finding a loophole at a bookmaker is exciting…but…getting banned for arbitrage betting after 1 day is not.

Being a professional sports bettor has its advantages and drawbacks too.

Below you can read about each relevant step to avoid a fast limitation. You can also check the Arbitrage betting risk simulator.

It helps you figure out what markets, stakes, and other factors have a high risk of getting banned from bookies.

While you are making good profits from betting as a smart bettor, you face several obstacles.

One of the biggest problems for bettors is getting their accounts limited or banned.

How do you not get caught arbitrage betting?

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 by bookmakers.

It is more realistic to call it delay because, in the long run, you do not stand a chance of avoiding 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 the ones I mention in my betting agents article.

1. Do not deposit too much for the first time

Arbitrage bettors are used to place 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 bets spotter 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 accounts 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 or the betting brokers.

Relevant article: top premium and free arbitrage bet finder tools & scanners.

2. Do not deposit too much in a short period

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, by 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.

3. Do not start with big stakes

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. Round your stakes on every bet

Rounding your stakes is one of the most mentioned tips for 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 euros, 47.8 euros, and so on.

I was lucky enough because not all of the bookmakers were advanced enough to catch 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 non-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.

5. Place mug bets to delay the limitation

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. 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.

8. 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 getting a red card or a goal fast enough, being a little bit late in tennis, or missing a 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 keep 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.

9. Do not ignore bonuses and promotions

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 does not accept a gift becomes suspicious.

If you don’t want to raise flags but still want to avoid rolling over big sums, take a smaller part of the bonus only.

10. Do not withdraw too early

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 the limitation of your betting account.

Some additional bets are easy to complete, and you can avoid this kind of inconvenience.

11. 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.

12. 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 maximum 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.

13. 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 technique, 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.

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.

It will help you clear your mind from unnecessary ideas.

Additional steps to avoid getting caught by bookies for arbing

• 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 a 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 (a selfie in front of your home with ID beside your head). And even then, they can confiscate your money.

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.

This technique is based on guaranteed profit and betting without risk, so 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.

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.

Is it possible to avoid limitations?

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 a 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 becoming 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.

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.

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 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 a betting site ban you from winning too much?

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, accurate 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.

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 and get more experience to make them believe we are just some lucky guys.