Caution on Refund Betting (Bet365)
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Though this would apply to all Refund Welcome offers on all bookmakers, since I just experienced it with Bet365 then that is who I'm calling out here.
Refund Offer
Get up to $1000 back in free bets, if your first bet loses.The Almost Disaster
A. I didn't (couldn't) put the full $1000 down, so I opted for depositing half as much for $500.B. Followed the NinjaBet guide on doing Refund bets, and found my target bet with the Dutcher.
C. Since I had already made over twenty bets using the Dutcher in the week prior, I didn't hesitate to make the B2 (over $800) first; a habit I've gotten into since the B2 bet always has the best odds (better than -400, in this case) and therefore more likely to win.
D. I followed the B2 bet with an immediate wager of the $500 I had just deposited on Bet365 (B1) and then ... Bet365 REFUSED the wager, saying their trader did not approve the bet and they would only accept a max wager of $187.50.
I called their customer service saying, "Bet365 ACCEPTED my deposit of $500, and I accepted the offer of 'refund up to $1000 if your first bet loses' and you are only accepting a max $187.50 bet on that?" (ya dodgy cu... er ... people!)
No surprise that they said, "uh, yeah, sorry" and it left me scrambling to adjust the $800+ B2 bet.
Fortunately, since I was making the B2 wager hours before the start of the event, with Fanduel, they allowed me a full cashout of the original bet, and to scale it down to match with the $187.50 now on Bet365. Crisis averted.
Lessons Learned
From now on with future refund bet offers, I will only ever place the B1 Refund Bet FIRST, followed by the B2.I was lucky that I did this well before the start of the event, and was therefore able to make a full cashout and adjustment to the B2. Be very aware that not all sportsbook platforms will allow you to do this.
Finally, since the bigger B2 bet had the far better odds (around -400) I was slightly tempted to just let the $800+ bet ride, and enjoy the big payout that was SURELY to come. But that would have been gambling, and I was risking the possible loss of over $500 unprotected, unmatched funds.
Turns out, my B2 bet did indeed win (on the winner of a tennis match) but not until they had dropped the first set 6-3.
Karma's little reminder that it's best to play it safe, and stick to the systems as instructed by NinjaBet, or possibly learn an ugly lesson in not being greedy and dumb.
Cheers!
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Hey @KansaiFixer, thanks for sharing your experience. Sometimes bookmakers put a limit on how much you can bet, hanging on the competition you're betting on. Usually with NFL, NBA or any other major league this doesn't happen. But it's definitely something to keep in mind.
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I ran into the same thing on BetMGM, thankfully I waited until it failed and didn't place bet 2. Ended up just switching and picking a NFL playoff game, which gave lower % but higher max bet.
Some sites will show you the maxbet, like fanduel, but some don't which is annoying
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@brad-crumb901 very much agreed on how to approach these 1st bet back if you don't win up to $1,000; $1,500; whatevers.
After my Bet365 experience, I now make sure that I'm giving myself an hour or two before the event start time, to deposit and place that first wager on the refund site offer. I'm doing that mostly because the odds don't tend to shift much, hours beforehand.
Then, when I do make that deposit and place my first bet on the refund site, and if it won't accept the full amount, it's a quick adjustment in the Dutcher and the odds should still be there on the BB2.
Still annoyed at all those [censored] ads offering these refund bet offers, aren't legally required to add-on the phrase "up to $1,000 (unless we arbitrarily decide we don't want your action, and tell ya to get bent!)"
Happy gambli...er...free money getting to you all!
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@KansaiFixer It sounds like you got restricted. Guide 10 goes over how to avoid this happening.
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@bdub9613 Yes, I knew all about the rules of avoiding getting gubbed, but didn't expect it as a brand new customer on a welcome offer with Bet365. Looking back on it, I guess I got popped for "Avoid unpopular games: Betting $500 on a match from the second division in Kuwait is a clear sign that you are doing Matched Betting."
I didn't feel that would apply to a quarterfinals match in the United Cup, while certainly not huge in renown in the sporting world, it is still a 10 million dollar prize money event leadup to the Australian Open. I mean, c'mon, tennis fans (I am not) aren't allowed to get in on the betting action, too? Guess not.
The lesson I learned from this, as @carlos mentioned in his reply to my original post, "Usually with NFL, NBA or any other major league this doesn't happen."
Got it: no more attempts at high-dollar 1st bet refund offers, on anything other than the big four American leagues and/or the top football leagues in the world.
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@KansaiFixer you are 100% right. That's not a small event. But tennis is seen as a very "fraud" prone sport. There are a lot of spotters live at the game.
At the same time I will never understand how they allow bookmakers to limit users. It's like "all you can eat" restaurants that discriminate on who can eat too much.
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