If you play at online casinos regularly, you may be no stranger to winning. And you might have heard rumours about players being banned from online casinos for winning too much money.
That makes for an interesting story, for sure, but do online casinos ban winners for scooping more cash than they want to give away?
No: reputable, licensed casinos won’t ban winners based purely on how much money they win.
Instead, casinos can use a big-winning player to their advantage: sharing the tale of a person who claimed a jackpot, potentially a life-changing amount, will help promote their brand. Winners may be more inclined to return to the casino repeatedly in the future after enjoying such a positive experience, too.
The news of a big payout could also encourage new players to try their hand at the same game in the hope of winning. Additionally, reputable casino companies also understand that giving money away from time to time is inevitable.
However, while online casinos don’t ban players for winning too much, they can ban them for a number of other reasons. We’ll take a look at those reasons below, and share some advice on what to do if you’re banned from online casinos.
Do Land-Based Casinos Ban Winners?
As with online casinos, land-based casinos are highly unlikely to try to ban winners based on the size of their payouts. In fact, if you’re winning fairly, you’re also likely to be wagering a lot of money. And that means a casino’s management team will want you to keep spending in their venue rather than going elsewhere.
Land-based casinos can ban winners for the same reasons as online casinos (which we’ll cover below), but they may also ban people for behaving badly towards staff and other customers (e.g. becoming aggressive).
5 Reasons Why Casinos Ban Players
Online casinos and land-based venues may not ban you for winning too much money fairly, but they could remove you for a number of legitimate reasons. Here are five reasons why casinos of both types ban players.
Cheating
If a casino’s team suspects anyone of trying to cheat the system, they can ban them and confiscate their winnings. Seasoned teams have security measures and checks in place to identify unethical people attempting to win unfairly.
One of the most well-known types of cheating at online casinos is abusing bonuses. Players may create multiple accounts with false details to claim several welcome offers (e.g. a 100% match on first deposits or free spins). Casinos tend to be wise to this technique, and will swiftly ban players who try to trick them. Those caught cheating will be unable to return to the site and will forfeit their winnings.
If in doubt, always read the terms and conditions at online casinos to avoid mistakes. Gambling Zone only recommends reputable, licensed online casinos that take cheating seriously.
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Gambling Underage
It’s illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to gamble in the UK. Reputable online and land-based casinos take strict measures to ensure that anyone gambling on their site or premises is of legal age. Verification checks are a critical part of playing at online casinos, as they protect the business and customers.
Allowing anyone to gamble illegally can harm a casino’s reputation and land them with substantial fines. Both types of casinos can ban winners and confiscate their prize money if they’re found to be underage.
Violating Casino Policies
Online casinos and land-based venues create stringent policies that all players are expected to follow. If you’re found breaching policies, particularly those relating to fair gambling, you may be banned from a casino for life.
At an online casino, breaching policies could involve trying to set up more than one account to claim a bonus twice. However, land-based casinos may ban winners for breaching their behaviour policy, such as being rude to dealers or bar staff.
Always check the information a casino provides on their policies, whether at a brick-and-mortar casino or a website. That can protect you from costly mistakes.
Wagering in a Suspicious Way
If a casino has reason to believe that your betting patterns are suspicious, they could have grounds to ban you. They may notice that you’re exploiting a glitch in a system, for instance, or flat-out cheating.
Casinos may monitor your gambling for some time to determine whether or not your betting patterns are questionable. But they should only ban you and confiscate your winnings if they know you’re playing in an unethical way.
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Counting Cards
Counting cards is fully legal in the UK, but casinos generally frown upon it. You may be removed from the premises for counting cards at a land-based casino, though you should be allowed to keep any winnings you have accumulated if you played fairly otherwise.
It’s considered extremely difficult (if not impossible) to count cards in online games, but websites may still take action to discourage it.
How Do Online Casinos Ban Players?
If an online casino’s team decides to ban you, you should receive an email informing you of the ban. It may explain why in explicit or vague terms (e.g. abusing bonuses).
When one online casino bans you, it’s likely that you’ll also be banned from any other casinos sharing the same licence. Your account will be closed and winnings may be confiscated.
What Should You Do When You’re Banned from Online Casinos?
If you feel you’ve been banned from an online casino unfairly, you may be able to file an appeal with the company. That could result in reinstatement of your account, though it’s not guaranteed. Additionally, you may contact the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to report the issue. The UKGC could investigate and find that you’re innocent of cheating or other suspicious behaviour.
