Bookmakers are traditionally known as the ‘accountants of the horse racecourse’ and this is for good reason. They take money as stakes on various outcomes of a race or contest and they pay out money to those who predicted the outcome correctly.

The aim of this ‘accountant’ is of course so that when the balance sheet is drawn up, a profit has been made by the bookmaker. To achieve this, they try to offer odds that are actually smaller than the probability of the outcome actually turning out that way.

The odds offered by the Bookmakers when a given event is added up are therefore higher than 100%.

If a bookmaker offered odds of, say, 6/5, it would always be to the bettor’s advantage. You would then bet, say, £50 on ‘heads’ and £50 on tails and you would make a profit regardless of the result. Bookmakers are, of course, far too smart to let this happen. However, it is possible that comparing odds at bookmakers can create such a win/win situation.

Below is an example of how prices are set based on the nature of the event. Let’s take two horse races, same venue, same type of race.

Race 1: Big well-known race, well-known names competing, high stakes spread across the various player. Bookmakers can then compile odds easily and without much adjustment.

Race2: Small race, with unknown participants. Is unlikely to generate as many stakes, so betting a high amount on 1 horse causes more headaches for the Bookmakers than race 1. To secure the Bookmaker’s margin, the odds per horse will go down, to have a higher ‘over-round’ percentage overall, so this acts as a buffer for the Bookmaker.

Bettors like to have multiple accounts because it ensures they get the best price on all their bets. It can be very frustrating to see your accounts very restricted or even closed. The official reason for restricting accounts is almost always a ‘trading decision’; actually, it is the reasons below that make your accounts get tackled.

Bookies love it when you place multiple bets. That’s why they offer so many enhancements (odds that are increased in between) and money-back specials with multiple bets. After all, any kind of bet with more than one outcome reduces your chances of winning.

Although you get a few wins from these bets; the bookies will generally leave you alone because they assume they are going to make money from you in the long run.

There are some bets that bookmakers dislike, such as singles, for example. Or bad each way bets (each way bets in races where a short priced favourite is running and bettors are more likely to take advantage of the market) and each way bets on relatively short priced selections (3 on 1 or 4 on 1 shots).

These are some examples of bets that bookmakers are not happy about and – even if you are losing – can cause restrictions on your account

Don’t worry if you have never had to deal with bookmaker restrictions. Be happy! Most gamblers bet for fun and usually the amounts involved are so small that bookmakers are not worried at all. Besides, most punters lose regularly or bet on the type of bets bookmakers love (especially multiples).

Don’t forget that a bookmaker runs a commercial business. That is why bookmakers make sure their terms and conditions allow them to restrict big winners at any time.

Naturally, it would be much fairer for bookmakers to treat their big losing customers the same as their big winning bettors. The chances of this happening are slim, especially since the government has no legislation on the matter.

It is relatively easy for bookmakers to monitor customers so having restrictions imposed on them is unfortunately one of the things to consider when gambling.

Of course, ideally you should not have to deal with restrictions from bookmakers. So the question is, can you do anything about this or are you powerless? There are some things you can do to reduce the chances of restrictions. We have put them here for you, take advantage of them!

• Set rounded amounts
  The more arbitrary your bets are, the more you will resemble an arber. Arbers bet with exact amounts to guarantee their winnings. Betting with 40 euros instead of 39.99 makes you look more like a real gambler. Whether you are or not…
• Write off money
  Don’t write off your money from your account too often. Make sure it doesn’t look like you have a regular betting bank, because the more strategy the bookies think they see in you, the more likely they are to restrict your accounts. If you’re winning; let your balance go up.
• Lose!
  Believe us, this advice is not as weird as it sounds.
  If you have a good run in an account and it’s all running smoothly, back some selections that they lose and then trade them on the exchanges. Of course, make sure your potential debts do not exceed your potential profits.