If you’re a regular at Betfair’s sportsbook or exchange, it can be jarring to attempt to log into your account only to find out that your activity has been restricted, or the account has been suspended altogether.
Befair accounts are closely monitored for signals that suggest illegal activity, violations of its terms of service, abuse of its data and profitable sportsbook accounts that threaten its bottom line.
If Betfair’s AI picks up enough of these signals your account will be flagged, resulting in a suspension or limits to what you can do with your betting account.
So, if you’ve been doing nothing wrong on Betfair, take a deep breath and we’ll help you understand why your account has run into trouble, how to get full access back and what you can do if you can’t get back into your account through official help channels.
Types of Betfair account restrictions
Betfair keeps it simple when it comes to handling potentially problematic user accounts, with actions against these accounts generally falling into one of two categories.
Account suspensions
An account suspension is the most severe penalty that Betfair will use against one of its customers. In this situation you are effectively locked out of your account and will be unable to access your account or place any further bets unless you successfully appeal your suspension.
Account restrictions
Betfair, and its sportsbook in particular, may restrict your account in several different ways. These can range from being unable to benefit from Betfair promotional offers to having your stakes limited when you attempt to place bets.
Reasons for Betfair account suspensions and restrictions
Betfair will restrict or suspend accounts when it’s AI flags these accounts for one of the following reasons.
Violating terms and conditions
Your Betfair account can be suspended for violating the company’s terms of service. Activities considered to be worthy of suspension are not necessarily illegal, and may just be ones that Betfair tries to discourage, these can include:
- practicing arbitrage
- attempting to manipulate specials or promotional offers to unfair advantage
- providing false information during signup or using someone else’s identity to place bets on Betfair
- attempting to circumvent Betfair’s premium charge on your exchange activities
- harvesting data from the betting exchange, or indulging in behaviour that mimics this
- taxing the Betfair website’s resources without betting money on the exchange
- interacting with Betfair as a commercial entity, such as a sportsbook using Betfair or its odds for commercial purposes.
Then there are the activities that are flat out illegal in Betfair’s regulatory jurisdictions, which include:
- underage betting
- fraudulently using other people’s payment methods
- money laundering
- match fixing.
Winning
While you’re unlikely to run into restrictions on the Betfair exchange if you win frequently, the same isn’t true when you’re up against the house in the Betfair sportsbook.
Win consistently enough on the Betfair sportsbook and the bookie may take steps to limit your future winnings, typically by setting a maximum stake limit or limiting your access to value-added products, like betting promotions.
How to get your Betfair account back
If you can’t access your Betfair account, you will need to get in touch with their customer support and try figure out what went wrong on your account.
You can contact Betfair help using any of the following:
You will be put in touch with an agent who will attempt to help you resolve the issue. Bear in mind during this process that help agents are generally low-level employees working off a script, and you may need to be patient to get to the root of the problem.
Also note that while you may get a suspended account back, it is unlikely that Betfair will remove stakes limits on your account if that is your issue. Stake limits are intentionally put in place to protect Betfair’s bottom line and are also perfectly legal – which means they’re unlikely to allow you to hurt their bottom line by lifting restrictions so that you can keep on winning at their expense.
What to do if Befair will not lift restrictions on your account or reactivate it
If Betfair won’t lift restrictions on your sportsbook account, then you can simply go place your bets at the Betfair exchange, where any stake limits will fall away.
However, if you have completely lost access to your Betfair account, whether it is the exchange or sportsbook, your best bet is to make a fresh start elsewhere.
If you have lost access to the Betfair sportsbook there are dozens of other major bookies who offer feature packed betting sites brimming with value. These include:
If you need to get set up on a new betting exchange, then your options are a bit more limited, with the following exchanges offering an alternative to Betfair:
- BETDAQ
- Matchbook
How to avoid having your betting account restricted in future
If you don’t want to lose access to your betting account in future, your best bet is to read the terms of service when you sign up with your new bookie or exchange.
Familiarize yourself with their policies and you’re much less likely to run into trouble in the long term.
If you want to avoid your stakes being limited and your account being restricted, your best option is to spread your successful betting strategies across several bookies so that any one of them is less likely to flag you.
Naturally you should also ensure that you:
- are legally allowed to bet in your location and that the bookie in question is licensed to operate there
- never open duplicate betting accounts
- supply accurate information when opening an account
- only use your own payment accounts when deposit into, or withdrawing from, your betting account.
Can Betfair legally suspend your account?
Yes, it is perfectly legal for Betfair to suspend or restrict your account whenever they feel it is appropriate. You agreed to this when you signed up for your account and accepted their terms and conditions.
If you feel that you have been victimised in some way by a bookie, you can contact IBAS (the Independent Betting Adjudication Service) in the UK and take your case to them.
However, this is likely to be time consuming and far more effort than simply opening an account at a new bookmaker or exchange.
Betfair suspended account FAQ
Can you be banned from the Betfair exchange?
If you violate the terms and conditions of the Betfair exchange your account can be suspended.
Can you be banned from the Betfair sportsbook?
Yes, if you violate the Betfair sportsbook’s terms and conditions you could find yourself having your account suspended.
What does Betfair account closed on business grounds mean?
If your account in some way negatively affects the operation of Betfair as a business, it may be closed on business grounds. An example of this might be refreshing the exchange frequently without placing any, or many, bets. This puts pressure on Betfair’s resources without benefitting them in any way, which can lead to your account being suspended to stop your activities from impacting their website.
What does suspended mean on Betfair?
A suspension at Betfair means you will not be able to access your betting account at the exchange or bookmaker. You will be notified of your suspension by email and will then be unable to login to your account.
Do Betfair close winning accounts?
The Betfair exchange will not close or otherwise interfere with a winning account, providing you are not trying to break other rules, like trying to avoid a premium charge on your account. Winning accounts on the sportsbook are more likely to be restricted than closed, provided you are not flagged for potentially fraudulent activity.
Do Betfair limit accounts?
Yes, the Betfair sportsbook can limit winning accounts in a variety of ways ranging from maximum stakes restrictions to withdrawing access to special offers.
Betfair closed my account. How do I register a new account?
If your account has been closed and you attempt to reboot it with a new account, it is highly likely your new account will be quickly flagged and shut down.
Can I still bet with a suspended Betfair account?
No, you cannot log into a suspended Betfair account and therefore cannot place any bets.
How to get back a permanently closed Betfair account?
If you want to get back access to your permanently closed Betfair account, you will need to contact Betfair’s helpdesk.
Will Betfair ban bot winners?
Betfair has already banned automatic trading bots on its exchange. These programs place a heavy technical burden on the exchange and may cause it to crash.
Will Betfair ban you for matched betting?
No, Betfair is unlikely to ban you for matched betting as you are simply placing a lay bet on their exchange, and they cannot link it to the bet you are matching at a fixed odds bookie. They also lose nothing on matched bets, which gives them no reason to ban accounts for this activity.
Do Betfair close inactive accounts?
No. However, if your Betfair account is inactive for 13 months Betfair will start charging a monthly fee against your balance until the account balance reaches zero.
Can I have 2 Betfair accounts?
No, attempting to operate two separate Betfair accounts is likely to result in an account suspension for one or both accounts.
Can you be Gubbed by Betfair?
You can be gubbed by the Betfair sportsbook. However, it is unusual to be gubbed by any betting exchange. Betting exchanges will generally only gub an account if it gives an indication of being used for commercial purposes.
Can Betfair detect a VPN?
This depends on your VPN. Cheaper VPN services are so widely used that it is easy to identify their IPs and block them from accessing a website. However, a premium VPN service is less likely to be recognized by Betfair.
What does you have exceeded your exposure limit mean on Betfair?
If Betfair is giving you an alert that you have exceeded your exposure limit this means that you are attempting to place a lay bet with insufficient funds in your account to cover your liability if the selection you are laying wins its event.
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