Australia Looks into Betting Firms Banning Winning Punters

A lawmaker and a representative of the largest online sports betting company in Australia engaged in an intense discussion earlier this week. The topic was whether or not betting operators block gamblers that are continuously winning and involved the committee chair of the House of Representatives for Dunkley, Victoria, Peta Murphy, as well as Barni Evans, the CEO of SportsBet, a famous online sports betting company in the country, ABC News revealed.

Murphy asked SportsBet’s CEO if the company stops punters from being able to bet or access their betting accounts if such people are constantly using different promotions as well as other inducements to always win. The response of the company’s CEO was that on specific occasions, it may restrict access to a customer’s account and the options for betting or depositing.

Evans explained that such occasions would involve an individual that is demonstrating the use of insider information that can ultimately impact the market for other punters. On other occasions, he said, restricting accounts or depositing may be enforced when the company notices an individual betting on behalf of another person, something that’s not uncommon for many gambling operators.

Punters Can Be Restricted from Betting over Several Reasons

Additionally, Evans said that if a punter was in a cool-off period or has enforced a deposit limit, they would not be allowed to deposit. “If they are betting in highly illiquid markets that are volatile and have very high fluctuations, then we would reduce the amount of available stakes in those areas,” added the CEO.

“We will seek occasionally to limit some forms of transactions either bets or deposits in a number of circumstances.“

Barni Evans, CEO of SportsBet

Hearing Evans’ response, Murphy asked once again if a bettor’s account would be restricted if they are winning constantly without using insider information. She did not receive a response that greatly differed from the previous statement of SportsBet’s CEO. Continuing the discussion, Evans explained that the company doesn’t restrict users that are mathematically gifted. However, he said that clients that are using insider information cannot be allowed to bet as it would create an unfair market for the other bettors.

Murphy asked the same question once again trying to extract more information from Evans, but the CEO kept his position, saying that suspending of accounts happens when insider trading is observed. The chair of the House of Representatives explained that she wants to know if gambling companies suspend or restrict bettor’s accounts when they are constantly winning, outlining that she knows a person that has seen this happen. In the end, Murphy did not receive a yes or no answer and concluded that betting companies may stop people from betting whenever they are only winning.