
Understanding the math and the business behind soccer betting limits:
Some may wonder, if I’m willing to bet, and I have a lot of money, why can’t I bet anyways? Well, firstly, the concept of what is a lot of money depends a lot on what you mean.
Professional bettors in Asia bet millions of pounds on games of big leagues like the UEFA Champions League. Some institutions have had billions of turnover since their incorporation. I’ve seen this first hand.
Betting limits exist for different reasons. Firstly, not all bookies have a similar business model. Retail bookmakers, which are the most famous brands in the market, are mainly after the betting volume of punters that want to have fun occasionally. Rich investment firms that focus on gambling profits can shake the market with tons of money, and they simply can’t take the risk.
Football betting markets: risk management
One of the reasons why limits exist is risk management. This is a complex subject, but there are simple examples that will make sense to you.
Firstly, there are anti-money laundering laws that affect the regulated gambling markets like UK, the US, France, or Spain, for example.
Any financial activity that moves lots of funds is under the scrutiny of the central banks. That said, clients need to identify themselves and that’s why KYC policies exist.
Some criminals use gambling houses to claim that their funds derive from betting and not criminal activity.
Even the limit of money that you can deposit in a bookmaker is controlled.
In summary, compliance and risk management affect gambling funds, so it’s not that easy to bet high stakes, like millions, unless you choose a bookie focused on professionals. Some may have illusions that cryptocurrencies can do the trick, but these days over 70% of the bookies that take crypto have KYC procedures, according to the last information I heard of. The worst problem with no KYC, is if you can’t prove you’re who you claim to be, because the house doesn’t care, they can disappear with your funds! That’s why no KYC is mostly found at unregulated bookies and black markets in 2022.
Market adjustment: odds fluctuation and betting limits
Sometimes, however, the problem isn’t KYC or fraud prevention. In the professional markets, for example, like football Asian handicap betting, it’s easy to bet over 1 million dollars if you have the money.
But the house won’t take infinite amounts of money before adjusting their odds. And after a colossal drop of the odds, professionals will frown upon investing more, because of the value betting principles. Read more about it at our complete value betting guide.
The reason why the houses do that is that their internal financial flow would be disrupted. We’ll have an article about the business model of bookmakers, keep an eye on our blog.
Last but not Least… the sports frauds
Bookies have odds to very exotic events like lower or youth leagues of small countries or sports that aren’t very popular. The more ‘underground’ a league is, or the more amateur it is, the easiest it is to find corrupt players and referees. Sports frauds exist, but at the professional level, the market can easily identify misdemeanors and frauds.
So bookies trust prestigious leagues like the UEFA Premier League. Rich players are less likely to take bribes, and broadcasting as well as sports betting market tracking can detect these things. But the ‘confidence’ isn’t unlimited even at the top level.
At the amateur level, the limits will be little, and even a 500-dollar bet on a small event can ‘raise eyebrows’.
Now that you know more about sports betting, check the bonus offers of our trusted partners, open an account, and good luck!