So you’ve been Gubbed, Now what?

This is a follow up to last week’s post on how to keep your bookmaker accounts open. If you have not already read it I suggest you read it first and then come back to this post.

As I said last week, there are ways to prolong the life of your accounts at bookmakers, but no matter what you do, if you are a profitable gambler your accounts will sooner or later get shut down or heavily restricted.

So today I’m going to take a look at what you can do in this situation to continue making money from your betting with methods ranging from using betting exchanges to creating pseudo accounts.

Exchanges

So when all you betting accounts have been restricted your first port of call will be the betting exchanges.

You will never get restricted from a Betting Exchange. Companies who run betting exchanges do not care whether or not you’re a winning gambler or a losing gambler.

This is because at a betting exchange you are betting against another gambler and the exchange takes a small percentage of the winner’s profits. (5% or less)

While never having to worry about your account getting restricted is pretty good, the odds available on exchanges are often not as good as you could be getting at a bookmaker.

And not getting the best odds can be the difference between being a profitable gambler and losing gambler.

This will mean that you may have to change your betting habits slightly and spend more time finding bets which will be profitable at Betfair SP.

There are many tipsters who specialize in advising bets at betfair sp and this would be a good place to start.

There are also many profitable laying systems and tipsters out there who make their money from betting exclusively at exchanges and you should definitely include a couple of these in your betting portfolio.

If you are following a tipster who takes advantage of bookmaker’s early prices then you will really struggle to get the odds the tipster advises on a betting exchange.

If this is the case you still have a couple of ways that you can get your bets on at the bookies.

High Street Betting Shops

Even if your betting account has been limited online, you will still be able to get your bets on at a brick and mortar bookies.

The downsides to betting at shops are obvious. There will be a smaller selection of bookmakers nearby compared to online.

The speed at which you can place a bet and the selection of odds available are greatly reduced compared to having multiple online accounts.

If you’re placing a bet for one horse in Ladbrokes and you check your phone and see the best odds on the next horse you want to bet on is at William Hill you’d have to travel between shops and hope the odds haven’t been cut by the time you get there.

This being said, when your online accounts are gone, betting shops can become a source of added value and it is well worth spending a little bit of extra time if you can get good odds at the bookies, especially if you live close to a few of them.

If you’ve not bet at a shop before there are a couple of things you should watch out for.

Check your getting a price and not SP

When handing over your betting slip at the counter ask the staff to confirm what odds you are getting before the bet is placed.

If you just write your selection down and the current odds on your betting slip the staff may not inform you that the odds have been cut and place your bet regardless or they may even put your bet on at SP.

This kind of stuff is not unheard of so you should always ask the staff to confirm the odds before the bet is placed.

Always bet with cash

When placing a bet at a betting shop (especially one where you have been restricted online) always bet with cash.

If you bet with a credit card the bookies will know your name and they will be able to take a rough guess at your address from which shop you are betting at.

This can flag up data in the bookies system which will lead to your bets getting rejected at the counter if you are a restricted account holder or might lead to you getting the £20 max bet treatment.

It is also not a good idea to use any of these rewards cards that more and more bookies are starting to offer.

These link up your online account with the rewards card which you would use to pay in store, defeating the entire purpose we have for betting at shops in the first place. To stay under the radar.

It is vital to give the bookies as little information about you as possible in order to continue making money off of them.

Know your enemy, but don’t let them know you.

Pseudo Accounts

So all your betting accounts have been shut down, you’re making money on the betting exchanges but you miss the profitable opportunities that you were once able to exploit from the bookmakers and betting shops aren’t cutting it. There is one last thing you can do.

You can open a second and third accounts with the bookmakers. Now this is not as simple as opening a new account with the same name and same IP address.

I’ll get into all the details of how to actually do this in a minute but before I proceed heed my warning.

I am only writing about this because I am aware that this is something that people do and will continue to do. I cannot endorse using any of the following advice due to data protection and identity fraud risks.

If you are going to do this then be aware that doing so violates the bookmakers terms and conditions.

This means if you get caught not only will they will shut your account down but they will probably keep whatever money you have sitting in that account and because you violated their terms there is nothing you can do about it.

If you choose to go down this route do so at your own risk.

How to set up a second account

Setting up a new account is a great solution for dealing with limited accounts. However, you have to be clever about how you go about it.

If you were to set up an account in your spouse’s name after your account got restricted and bet using the same computer and internet connection the bookies would catch on quickly and restrict the new account after just one or two bets.

“So how do I go about setting up a pseudo account the right way?” 

I’m glad you asked. Here’s a step by step process.

Step 1: Find someone to set up an account for you

For this you will need to find someone you trust who preferably lives at a different address to you. I would recommend choosing either some close friends or family members for this.

Consider this carefully as this person may have access to your money (as will be discussed below) which is another risk to take into account when thinking about setting up a pseudo account.

Step 2: Open the account

This step is fairly self-explanatory. Your chosen friend or family member should open the betting account in their name at their home using their internet.

Another few small details to consider. The usernames, passwords, security questions etc. should be unique and unrelated to any other accounts you may have with the bookmaker to avoid the bookmaker realizing the accounts are linked.

You should keep the info for each pseudo account written down or saved on your computer somewhere so you can remember all the details and avoid typing in a password to a different account to the one you are trying to log in to.

Step 3: Fund the account

You have a few options on how you can fund the pseudo account.

Bank transfer – You could send your money to your nominee’s bank account and they could fund the account using your money from their bank account.

I don’t like this option because it can get messy in working out who’s money is who’s with multiple deposits and withdrawals involved.

Separate Bank Account – Your nominee could set up a separate bank account to use exclusively for the pseudo account. Your money would be deposited into the new bank account and could be deposited via bank transfer directly to the bookie.

I prefer this method to the one above as it keeps things clear and simple.

Moneybookers/Skrill – Another option you have is to have a Moneybookers account set up in your nominee’s name. You could fund this account via bank transfer or by sending money directly from your Moneybookers account to the new Moneybookers account. The betting account would then be funded by the nominees Moneybookers account.

Step 4: Log in and place your bets

Using the same computer to log into your pseudo accounts without taking any precautions will make it very easy for the bookmakers to see that your different accounts are linked.

So when it comes to using the account you are going to have to access it slightly differently than you would with your regular account.

Option 1 – Telephone Betting

One way to completely bypass using the online aspect of your new pseudo account is to phone your bets in. This will involve you calling up the bookmaker, quoting the account number and some security details for your pseudo account and placing your bet.

Not all bookmakers do phone betting so this will not work for all your accounts but most of the big UK bookmakers provide this service.

If you are going to go about betting by phone be sure to withhold your number by dialing 141 before calling the bookmaker.

Just like with betting in shops, make sure to confirm with the staff on the phone what odds you are getting before the bet is placed. Don’t just assume they will place the bet at their current odds as they will often place your bet at SP if you do not specify any odds.

Option 2 – Internet Betting

Betting over the internet is by far the fastest way to bet and my preferred method however placing bets through a pseudo account over the internet requires a little extra work initially to stay undetected.

Mobile Broadband

One way of betting through a pseudo account without the risk of linking it to your other accounts is to use mobile broadband. This will require you to purchase a dongle or a mifi device. You can get these on a contract or pay as you go/surf to suit your needs.

This will allow you to bet through your pseudo accounts from the comfort of your own home or even when you are out and about.

To bet through your pseudo account at home simply switch off your main internet connection, switch on your mifi device/dongle and connect to your mobile internet. Then log in to your pseudo accounts and place your bets.

Remember to never log on to your original accounts using the mobile broadband to prevent the bookmaker from realizing your accounts are linked.

When using mobile broadband to access your pseudo accounts you need to be using a completely different/new computer that you or anyone else has never used before to access betting sites.

This is because each computer has it’s own very unique finger print based on what hardware it is made up of and what software is installed on it and also your browser configuration. Bookmakers have lately been using such information to track their customers more closely.

While a new computer may set you back a couple of hundred pounds it is worth it.

Think of it this way. A complete new set of bookmaker accounts is worth thousands of pounds to a profitable gambler. The cost of a new laptop compared to this is miniscule.

Virtual Private Servers (VPS)

When accessing pseudo accounts I advise you add an extra layer of precaution and that layer of precaution is a virtual private server.

A virtual private server is like having access to a completely separate computer with its own IP address through your own computer.

Whilst these can be a little complicated to set up initially, once they are set up it is very easy to use and will ensure that the bookmakers cannot link any of your accounts to one another.

There are many different VPS providers so prices are competitive and the internet accessed through VPS is usually very quick and reliable. Check this best VPS providers comparison to get a better idea for yourself.

I have used Tagadab as VPS before and can say that they are very reliable but make sure to have a shop around as you may find a similar VPS provider at cheaper prices elsewhere. I am now using Interserver VPS which is fast, reliable and affordable.

An added bonus to using a VPS is that you can access it from anywhere in the world so this would allow you to log into your bookmaker accounts and place bets when you were in another country where the bookmaker is not licensed to accept bets from.

When picking a VPS provider you will need to make sure that the VPS you are getting is based in the UK and will work with your OS. If you use Windows OS then you will need to have a VPS which also runs Windows OS.

You can access your VPS through a service called Log Me In. You can take a 2 week free trial and after that it will currently cost you around £50 per year.

Once you’ve got your VPS all set up you should visit http://www.whatismyipaddress.com and take a look at your additional IP details. Make sure that you don’t have any personal information showing here such as your surname.

If you do you will need to access your VPS control panel and alter the settings so this is not the case.

Any website you visit can see all these IP address details so if your surname was visible it could end up leading to your account being linked and shut down.

Another solution is to find the best VPN monthly deal – or a longer contract if you need, and connect from another server that way.

Summary

Exchanges and betting shops are useful tools in the arsenal of a professional gambler but they do not compare to the speed you can place bets and the odds available at online bookmakers.

The use of pseudo accounts is a great way of getting around this problem but they can often introduce more problems of their own.

Finding a 3^rd party who you can trust with your money, possible payments to the 3^rd party for their services, the cost of new computers and VPS services and doing it all over again when your pseudo accounts get shut down.

But jumping these hurdles is what it takes to stay one step ahead of the bookies and continue making money from them.

I hope you have been able to learn a thing or two from this post that you can potentially use to make more money from your betting.

If you have any advice of your own on how to beat the bookies please feel free to share it in the comments below.