The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published a report on wagering limits by sports betting operators, providing an outlook of how the market compares to restrictions in the U.S.
The commission surveyed active customer accounts within the previous calendar year. The British regulator collected data from nearly 15 million customer accounts. The operators included in the survey reported 643,779 limited accounts, making up 4% of total accounts.
Of those with restricted accounts, 62.7% of them included some sort of stake restriction. Many of those accounts are later closed. Slightly over half of all restricted accounts end up closed, suggesting many patrons are initially limited before being shut off completely. Account closure happened to roughly 2.23% of all accounts surveyed.
Limited players in the UK have a higher rate of profitability
The UKGC provided data regarding restricted player losses and profits that did indicate the limited accounts seem to be more successful sports bettors than the rest of the customer base.
Its data found that 73% of active player accounts that weren’t restricted were lifetime losers compared to 52% of restricted customers incurring overall losses with operators.
By comparison, 25% of active accounts with no restrictions are overall winners, with 48% of limited account holders having reported a profit throughout their account lifetimes.
The loss and profit data indicated that limited bettors have a higher rate of profitability when wagering compared to unrestricted customers who are suffering losses at a higher rate. The ability for limited bettors to profit can lead to operators constraining their wagers.
While this is a hotly debated topic in the U.S., regulators and operators in Britain very openly embrace the idea of limiting successful players.
“Businesses may take commercial decisions providing they do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics,” said the UKGC. “Being a successful bettor is not a protected characteristic in discrimination law.”
The commission noted potential consequences of limiting bettors, including the potential it drives successful bettors to either create secondary accounts or go offshore.
Comparing betting limits in the UK to North American markets
Professional gambler Billy Walters believes the deployment of wagering limits in North America derives from European markets given the influx of British brands in the U.S.
“They don’t understand booking American sports,” Walters said of British bookmakers during a panel at a National Council of Lawmakers From Gaming States (NCLGS) meeting last year. Walters is among a number of critics who said the British culture of limiting bettors is jeopardizing the future of the U.S. market.
Not everyone agrees that limiting is a problem though.
Last year, the Wyoming Gaming Commission (WGC) hosted an informational presentation on limits to discuss their impact on players and why operators issue them.
The discussion included insights from professional gambler Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos.
WGC Special Agent Supervisor Michael Steinberg submitted a report following the presentation concluding that limits are not an issue the commission should spend time on.
Steinberg’s research determined that less than 1% of bettors are limited and attributed the majority of wagering limits by operators to cheating. He cited courtsiding and group betting as examples of why sportsbooks limit players.
The UKGC has hard numbers on limiting, but so far, other than the Wyoming report, regulators have not investigated the issue. That is changing.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has requested data from its operators on limitnig after a roundtable discussions on the issue.
During the discussions, BetMGM representatives said approximately 1% of its customers in Massachusetts were limited in some capacity, far lower than the UKGC rates. A FanDuel representative said that 0.043% of wagers placed in Massachusetts were placed at maximum amounts available.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is continuing to collect data from operators but results in the UK show that operators are deploying betting limits to over 1% of bettors.
Legislation related to sports betting limits
Lawmakers are also considering pieces of legislation aimed at addressing wagering limits.
Earlier this year, the Connecticut House General Law Committee introduced Senate Bill 1464 as a measure that proposes limiting the maximum amount that sports bettors can place on a wager. The bill also proposes the definition of a wager to include free play, loyalty points or other redeemable credits or other non-monetary things of value risked.
SB 1464 was tabled for the calendar in April after a favorable vote.
