Can You Beat the Bookies – This Gambler Succeeded and Then They Shut Him Down

The story of one Dave McNeill, a professional gambler, best exemplifies how bookmakers treat big losers and big winners. McNeill is uniquely placed to serve as an example of both, as he has been on both sides of the line. 

McNeill Tells His Story: From a Loser to a Major Winner at the Bookies

First, in 2019, McNeill started out at William Hill and lost more than GBP 40,000 in just six months, or about $52,880. The bookmaker would woo him with extra perks such as tickets to major sports events, but then his luck turned around.

McNeill managed to go from his net loss to a GBP 20,000 win, about $26,400, in just three weeks, betting mostly on cricket, which saw the bookmaker grow a little less inclined to dish out goodies.

In fact, previously allocated Tottenham Hotspur tickets were cancelled for him 48 hours before the game, coinciding with McNeill’s sudden spot of good fortune. Having figured out how to consistently bet well, however, the player ended up placing more bets, but this time through friends’ accounts, as he eventually got banned from the bookmaker.

McNeill has more than a decade of experience gambling as well, and since 2012, he has gone through 50 different Bet365 accounts, offering 10% commission on his winnings to anyone who is willing to let him use their account. 

McNeill is also known as a “sharp,” the type of unicorn gambler who can demonstrate that sports betting is a game of skill. Bookmakers themselves have acknowledged the existence of such players, arguing that they could tell from the very first wager a person placed whether they qualified as a “sharp” gambler. 

Bookmakers in the United Kingdom have been increasingly strengthening their safeguards against sharp bettors, arguing that their platforms are for fun only and not a way to win money consistently as a profession, with the terms and restrictions allowing businesses to restrict accounts for simply winning too much.

Bookies in the UK Are Beefing Up Their Defenses

Despite these restrictions, though, professional gamblers such as McNeill continue to use accounts in other people’s names.

Bookies in the UK can legally restrict and most commonly ban people who open accounts for such sharp bettors who can no longer place bets under their own names. Having too many sharps in the pool also affects odds, as sportsbooks will continually push down the winning margins to address such threats.

As to the sharp gamblers themselves, they are not overly concerned about the restrictions – it’s a part of the game. By maintaining their for-fun-only veneer, bookmakers are offering good margins that gamblers such as McNeill can leverage to their benefit.