Bookmaker terms and conditions / betting rules

The devil is in the details as they say. Even though you probably wouldn’t even think of stopping by and looking at bookmaker terms and conditions and their betting rules, they are there in the fine print of all bookmakers. They are usually tucked away in a small link or accessible through the help section of a website.

Terms and Conditions

They can be pretty daunting at the best of the times. Long pages of text and legal jargon which isn’t an interesting afternoon read. However, a quick glance over a few things should help you get on the right path. The thing here is there are different rules for different sections of a bookmaker. Poker rules for example are going to be different sportsbook rules, and there will be separate rules for bonus and offers.

By signing up on a website you are accepting their terms and conditions and it is accepted that by usage of the website that you understand all the terms that in place (yes, even without reading them). Whenever you do play a game you are then bound to any applicable rules that are in place.

Sportsbook rules

This is where you are most likely to spend your time looking around. This is where the rules of betting can be found (generally sorted out by sport). For example, you will find the terms and conditions of what will happen to a bet if the event that you have wagered on is abandoned or postponed. For soccer rules, you will find a clear explanation of what terms such as 90 Minutes Play means and about the actual settlement of wagers. You will want to check out horse racing rules as well for things such as a dead heat finish. Little details like that.

Account Limits

As explained in the Bookmaker payment options / methods section there are differing limits when it came to maximum and minimum deposit amounts that you can make. This will be determined by your method of payment. Some bookmakers will actually let your set up a deposit limit so that you can’t deposit more than a certain amount in a set period of time (usually a day or a week). This helps keep your finances under control.

There are maximum winning limits as well to pay attention to, which can generally be found in a bookmakers’ terms and conditions. It usually applies to the amount that you can win in a 24 hour period for each sport. Limits will vary between bookmakers, but just as a guideline, a famous bookmaker that we can't mention here run a £2,000,000 limit for men’s full international matches and a top domestic league. Lower tier leagues and tournaments will have lower limits. Horse racing has a £1,000,000 maximum when and industry SP is declared, golf has a £500,000 limit for all markets and cricket a £100,000 limit for all markets and so on.

How much money can I set on a bet?

This will vary from bookmaker to bookmaker. Most of the major players won’t have a limit on the maximum bet that you can play. Again, you are generally just going to be guided by how much you can actually win on a given sport in a given time period.

Getting suspended or banned

There are obviously rules to follow with an online bookmaker and if you breach them you will get kicked out. This could occur when a negative balance on your account is not paid (negative balances are due to be paid immediately) if you become bankrupt you could have your account suspended, cheating of course (police will be notified) and improper use of the website. Your account will also be closed if it sits dormant for a set period of time (inactivity) which is usually a year.