Legality of withholding deposited money by betfair

any reason for refusing?

Probably legally they can because it's in their Ts and Cs. In reality they very likely won't hold onto it forever unless they have cause to suspect fraud/ML etc. Any reason why you can't just verify the account?

Don’t want to verify out of principal ,they accepted the deposit with no checks etc etc.

I have told them i no longer wish to bet with them and accept that if i want to bet with them i need to follow their stupid rules , I don’t wish to send them requested info and would just like my money sending back.

If it's bank statements etc to prove affordability then it's more understandable that you would be reticent to share. If it's just proof of card/account ownership and address then it's easier to argue that you're being unreasonable, and you're best off just sucking it up IMO.

They have no defence against the "why didn't you ask for verification on deposit" question!! IMO

Plus Betfair is a bit of a bridge to burn. It's the only Exchange with any decent liquidity and one day in the future you might regret it.

They have no defence against the "why didn't you ask for verification on deposit" question!! IMO


  AGREE.

Wait till u get there AC email demands

jamee1 14 Mar 24 17:16 
Plus Betfair is a bit of a bridge to burn. It's the only Exchange with any decent liquidity and one day in the future you might regret it.


That's the problem isn't it, as much as we kick and scream about it, it would be the ultimate cutting nose off to spite face move...and I like everyone else hate it.

Freddie- did you go ahead with the checks?

@sadlers - Keep us posted - I am interested in seeing how this pans out?

There are different schools of thought around how AML (etc) rules can be used in these situations.


@duffy - I  would  presume the honest defence would be "because no-one else does and if we'd asked sadlers for documentation before he deposited he'd have told us where to go and taken his money to one of our rivals who don't ask, so we didn't"?

Thanks James i agree that they are the only place to bet ,and I wouldn’t be closing the account,just want the money sending back.I have decided from my point of view that it is a bit of a waste of time from my standpoint gambling ,i  lose very little 319 pounds last year ,and all it is is fairly inexpensive entertainment for me now .

the account may be 17yrs and you almost certainly did kyc on it as we all did, so are you being asked to provide ID on an updated card that has been used on the account in more recent times?

sadlers • March 14, 2024 5:25 PM GMT
Thanks James i agree that they are the only place to bet ,and I wouldn’t be closing the account,just want the money sending back.I have decided from my point of view that it is a bit of a waste of time from my standpoint gambling ,i  lose very little 319 pounds last year ,and all it is is fairly inexpensive entertainment for me now .

May be a bit of catch 22 here. It's much easier for them to refuse to return your funds if you are leaving the account open. You might have to close it to force them to refund. I really would just acquiesce and verify the card.

Of you could arb the money out, but will likely cost you a few quid and comes with a bit of risk.

gambling commission rules

Our rules say that a gambling business can't ask you to prove your age and identity as a condition of withdrawing your money if they could have asked you at an earlier point. However, there may be occasions where a gambling business can only ask you for information at that time in order to fulfil legal obligations.

If a gambling business needs more information before you can withdraw your funds, for example, for anti-money laundering checks, then they should ask promptly and not only when you want to withdraw your funds.

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/guide/age-and-id-verification
.

In 10 years time it will probably be deemed illegal and everyone who has had to do it, will be recompensed for their inconvenience

Card has been in use for over a year, not sure exactly how long .Money has gone in and out .I tend to deposit and withdraw that deposit amount when i win then play with the profit .I think I deposited 3 times last year ,losing 319. I  deposited this latest amount 100 in late January it is presently at 117 with 30 running on the premier league outcome.As you can see from the amounts stated allegations of AML would be quite ridiculous.

so did this start by u asking to close the account or by them asking to verify ID?

it's a shame u won't wont be able to take whill to court for asking u to provide ID from 12 different people u had on your accounts dealer lol

Before suspension i asked if i would be able to withdraw my funds they told me to just keep gambling and it would probably not come to that.i just asked for money to be sent back to the card when the account was suspended

If a gambling business needs more information before you can withdraw your funds, for example, for anti-money laundering checks, then they should ask promptly and not only when you want to withdraw your funds.

This is it in a nutshell isn't it, because what they are doing is basically saying, bet with us no problem, hopefully do your dough but we'll have our cake and eat it by refusing you if you want to withdraw.

@sadlers - why all the fiddling around depositing and withdrawing for trivial sums?

Mar 14, 2024 -- 6:42PM, elise wrote:

it's a shame u won't wont be able to take whill to court for asking u to provide ID from 12 different people u had on your accounts dealer lol

If there is a will there is a way !!!!!

Great shout with Twig the other day.

ty, i thought they might win 2 out but sadly not

Like I said longbridge just entertainment for me these days .i used to bet quite heavily .i have always done the same thing though ,deposited then drawn it back once i got to a profit of the original stake .

If a gambling business needs more information before you can withdraw your funds, for example, for anti-money laundering checks, then they should ask promptly and not only when you want to withdraw your funds.

The trouble is bookmakers are also obliged by law to act on certain AML triggers. There are plenty of circumstances where a withdrawal request can trip one of these triggers.

sadlers • March 14, 2024 5:50 PM GMT
Like I said longbridge just entertainment for me these days .i used to bet quite heavily .i have always done the same thing though ,deposited then drawn it back once i got to a profit of the original stake.

One the the clearest flags in the AML Bookmakers Code of Conduct is a customer depositing then withdrawing the same value. Especially if never risking any of the deposit. I'm thinking this may have been the verification request trigger.

there is not a single chance that sadlers has triggered a mandatory aml investigation.

pretty much all these triggers will be large amounts or deposit/withdraw multiple smaller amounts in a short period.

If they reported some bod depositing and withdrawing £100, they would be told to f-ck off and get a grip.

same here sadlers - I haven't deposited or withdrawn for 5+ years - I'm just far enough ahead of the game to cover commission.

Hidden terms and conditions-       What is an ‘Inactive’ account fee?
If you have not logged in to your Betfair account in over 13 consecutive months, your account is considered ‘Inactive’.


Once an account is inactive, your Betfair account balance will be charged a fee each month until you:

login and reactivate,
close your account, or
your account balance reaches zero.
The level at which the monthly fee is set will depend on the currency in which your funds are held (and, in some circumstances, where you are based) - see the table at the end of the article for further details.

Yes, but you can ask for this money back at any time. It's mainly to get dormant balances off their books. No doubt they also make a pretty penny from people who die or completely forget about their account and never claim it back.

betfair control the show .

betfair control the show .

Before suspension i asked if i would be able to withdraw my funds they told me to just keep gambling and it would probably not come to that.i just asked for money to be sent back to the card when the account was suspended

if you've got that in writing i'm sure the GC would be interested to see it.  you asked for your funds and the bookie said no and ordered you to keep gambling ??

They have no defence against the "why didn't you ask for verification on deposit" question!! IMO


  AGREE.....Open and shut case ffs.

They have no defence against the "why didn't you ask for verification on deposit" question!! IMO


  AGREE.....Open and shut case ffs.

Hulk23 they advised me to keep gambling,just carry on betting i think were the words used by the agent in the chat.In hindsight should have taken a screen shot of it .They probably have it on record but never going to release it or admit that .