Betfair Account Restrictions & closed accounts - Getting them removed and accounts reopened

[Hunter84]

https://smartbettingclub.com/blog/category/sbc-news/

Some advice on action we are able to take.

[Grinderman]

I just emailed my MP using the info in the above link. Suggest we all do likewise.

[Hunter84]

I just emailed my MP using the info in the above link. Suggest we all do likewise.

Me too and I've also shared it on social media.

[Crazyskier]

It's funny. My wife and I went into our local casino (Grosvenor) late last summer after the early lockdown restrictions were eased, mainly for the 2-4-1 cocktails they used to do before 9PM.

We had a drink, and when I wandered over the the touch-screen roulette machine, not only was the screen cleaned thoroughly by a watching waitress before I could touch it, and a mask handed for me to wear on the gaming floor (as opposed to the bar), but shortly after loading in some pound notes, a manager came across and explained that the new gaming regulations meant that he must enquire as to my affordability!

He was very embarrassed and it was a really awkward conversation as he was asking really detailed questions about income and how much I was gaming. Eventually I showed him my Premier Banking (black) Barclays debit card, and suggested that we were quite liquid enough to spend a few hundred on the roulette if we so wished, and he apologised again and wandered off.

I must admit it was really off-putting and I actually felt sorry for the chap having to ask such probing questions! Anyway, since then we haven't been able to go back anyway with the 2nd wave, but it does make me wonder how any but the heavily addicted might feel having to go through that just to wager a bit on a live casino in future.

As others have said, I just hope they leave football, the nags and the dogs alone, and focus on the FOBTs and online casinos / poker sites which I'm sure cause the most harm to those betting more than they can afford to lose.

CS

[Vladimir CC]

As others have said, I just hope they leave football, the nags and the dogs alone, and focus on the FOBTs and online casinos / poker sites which I'm sure cause the most harm to those betting more than they can afford to lose.

I never played online poker so I don't know, but isn't supposed to work more or less the same way betting exchanges work? Playing against other players and the platform charging a small fee from participants? Or am I missing something?

[wearthefoxhat]

As others have said, I just hope they leave football, the nags and the dogs alone, and focus on the FOBTs and online casinos / poker sites which I'm sure cause the most harm to those betting more than they can afford to lose.

I never played online poker so I don't know, but isn't supposed to work more or less the same way betting exchanges work? Playing against other players and the platform charging a small fee from participants? Or am I missing something?

Yep, that about sums up on line poker with regard the small fee (rake/tourney fee).

One issue is that most poker sites now have sportsbooks too and will come under the same scrutiny as all bookmakers will in the future.

The poker sites also messed up how they processed deposits and the way players transferred money to other players without the proper checks.and exposed the site to money laundering.

The ones like that allow bitcoin to be deposited are also gonna feel the heat in the future too.

[puntinrolls]

When do we think any changes from this will be implemented?

[wearthefoxhat]

When do we think any changes from this will be implemented?

Hi Doyle...

Based on crazyskiers experience in a UK casino, it already has..

GGpoker have made changes already.

I haven't been in a betting shop for a bet for yonks, but if I'm sure if i went up to the counter with a couple of hundred, I'd be met with a few questions too.

[ANGELS15]

When do we think any changes from this will be implemented?

Some online articles I've read indicate any approved changes may start end of this year, early 2022. There's also talk of limiting online session times. When you think about it some trading methods may need you to be logged in for hours for automation to work etc. Also will bookmakers, casinos be expected to limit their customer's stay on their premises?

There are proposals to limit daily losses. Again if that were implemented how would it be enforced? It seems inconceivable that gambling companies, exchanges etc would have to do affordability checks for every single customer. Would that mean that the law/best practice may stipulate an arbitrary figure say daily loss limit £100? That would be ridiculous. Even recreational penny punters lose £20/£30 a day with no effort.

[ANGELS15]

Oh one other thought. Crazyskier made an interesting point about sportsbooks being linked to poker sites. This is the same with the exchanges. Up until now we've hoped that exchanges may be overlooked. I reckon once the proponents of change start to get a proper look at exchanges they'll want to curtail these as well. I hope I'm wrong, I really do but got a bad feeling about this.

[Grinderman]

As we know, gambling is exempt from income tax. Anyone having to prove that their main/sole income comes from Betfair in order to play, is going to be of interest to HMRC imo. Coupled with the fact we may argue that we are not really gambling at all as we have a skilled edge. Betfair already say that anyone paying PC is a trader and 'tax' them accordingly.

It could be that someone could prove that they are a trader and not a gambler in order to be exempt from any restrictions, but that would leave them wide open to taxation.

[jamesedwards]

Hopefully the impact to sports betting and betting exchanges will be light, especially given the recent economic strain from Covid. Most likely IMHO we will see some compromise with the heaviest restrictions targeted at casino gaming only.

However if the worst was to happen and draconian deposit/loss/time limits became enforced on the Exchange then Betfair liquidity could dry up to a point where trading is no longer feasible for most if not all of us.

I wonder what contingency options Bet Angel are considering? There are other API trading platforms out there which trade in Bitcoin and sit outside of UK regulation.

[Hunter84]

I hope it doesn't come to that James.

Bitcoin-based Exchanges and Brokers sound like the wild west to me.

[puntinrolls]

This threads making me anxious

[ANGELS15]

This threads making me anxious

Quite rightly so. If they bring in daily loss limits for example that would effectively scupper trading for many people. Say it was £100 per day, it's quite possible to be down that amount early in the day but then £100 up later on. Thats with modest stakes, even for a recreational punter having £20 bets.