How to avoid gubbing when matched betting

Bookmaker accounts are essential to matched betting. You need to open an account with at least one bookie to potentially make any money. The more bookies you open an account with, the more sign-up and reload offers you can receive. Sometimes, these accounts can be taken away from you, or at least, their usefulness when it comes to matched betting, something that is at the bookmaker’s discretion. Therefore, we have looked at how to avoid gubbing when matched betting. 

If you would first like to find more info on what matched betting is, check out our full guide at OddsMonkey.

What Is ‘Gubbing’?

“Gubbing” is a term used by matched bettors to describe betting account restrictions. Restrictions can include things like:

• Not being able to bet more than a few pence on a given sports event,
• Being limited to only a small amount of winnings,
• The removal of future promotions such as free bets and early payouts,
• The complete closure of an account.

These actions are obviously undesirable as they greatly limit an account’s profitability. If an account is restricted, it can be difficult to make money. Please note that if your account is restricted or closed, your funds will be returned to you.

Bookmakers gub accounts in an attempt to ‘punish’ for ‘abusing’ bonuses. Unfortunately, many bookmakers see matched betting as bonus abuse. However, matched betting is a completely legitimate way to use bookie offers.

If you are interested in learning other betting terms and related lingo, then you can check out our matched betting blog.

Why Do Bookmakers Gub Accounts?

Bookmakers may restrict accounts for various reasons, primarily to manage risk and ensure profitability. Being aware of this and understanding why bookmakers act as they do can help you take action to reduce the likelihood of being gubbed. Here are some of the reasons why you might be gubbed:

• Arbitrage Betting – Placing arb bets can lead to restrictions, as you are taking advantage of price differences between bookmakers and betting exchanges. If you are interested in learning more, check out our arbitrage betting guide.

• Consistent Winning – The bookmaker aims to make a profit; they might limit your stake size if you consistently win over a long period of time by placing good-value bets.

• Exploiting Promotions – If you are someone who only places bets on bonuses and promotions, then you might be at risk of getting your account suspended. Effectively, bookmakers want players to place bets without bonuses, in hopes that they lose so the bookie can make a profit.

• Irregular Betting Patterns – Unusual or irregular betting patterns may flag your account for review. For example, if you are placing bets on foreign sports or obscure events.

How To Avoid Gubbing When Matched Betting

Unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire advice on how to avoid gubbing when matched betting. However, whilst there are no absolute methods of prevention, there are some things you can do to significantly reduce the chances. Or at least prevent it from happening for a long time.

Obscure Markets

The first of these is not to bet on obscure sporting events or markets. Placing a large bet on a televised Premier League football match will be absolutely fine. However, if you place a similar-sized bet on a ‘corners market’ within a Bulgarian 3rd division football match, the bookmaker is likely to take note and begin placing restrictions on you.

As a general rule, if you haven’t heard of the teams that are playing, it’s best to avoid the game totally. Instead, select a slightly less profitable matched betting opportunity in a more recognised market.

In the OddsMonkey forum, we list the week’s main sporting events. The idea being that these should be alright to place bets on without raising suspicion. Other key indicators include whether the event is being shown on television or the amount of money traded on it at the betting exchange. You should be able to determine if an event is high-profile enough not to cause concerns.

Exact Amounts

Another way to avoid gubbing is to deposit more than the minimum amount. For example, if an offer says to deposit and bet £10, consider depositing £15 or £20. Always depositing the exact amount requested could make you look like you’re just there to grab the sign-up bonus and move on. Instead, having a little extra money in your bookie account suggests that you’re likely to stay with them.

Similar to this is sometimes betting more than the minimum required for an offer. For example, if you need to bet £10 to get a £10 free bet, consider betting £15. It may cost you a few more pence to lay it off, but a ‘healthy’ account can be worth so much more in long-term profitability.

Arbitrage Betting

The third thing to watch out for is arbitrage betting. Arbs are when you can back an event at the bookmaker for a higher price than you can lay it for on an exchange. This results in a profit, regardless of the result. Arbs often result from a misprice at the bookmaker or from exploiting it to balance their own books. The small profits you can make before being restricted are tiny compared to the long-term profits of an account that follows the bookmaker’s guidelines. As this can be part of a value betting strategy, it is important to use this carefully, by following the tips and tricks we make available on our site.Offer Grabbing

Finally, continually using bonuses, offers, and promotions can flag up your account. Therefore, it could be worth sitting out offers from time to time. Especially if they’re not worth much or if it’s for a sport you have never touched before. Again, not taking a few pounds once in a while can be worth it to avoid gubbing and boost long-term profits.

Placing bets with exceptionally high odds may lead to scrutiny from bookmakers, but sadly, there’s no way to prevent this.

What To Do If You’re Gubbed

If your account is gubbed, it’s not the end of your matched betting. Whilst you’ll no longer be able to profit from free bets, you can still make money. As long as your account isn’t stake restricted, you can do things like extra place payout offers on horse races. These fall under standard terms and not bonuses. They can be especially lucrative, and there are often several opportunities each day to generate profits from this method of matched betting.

How To Profit From Your Gubbed Accounts

If you have a gubbed account, there are still plenty of ways that you can use the account to make money, including through:

• Extra Places – Extra place offers are primarily available in horse racing and are typically used for all accounts, meaning if you are gubbed, you can still use them. If you are interested in how to use these throughout matched betting, then check out our extra place offers guide.

• Casino Offers – Most bookmakers have offers on the casino side of their site, which means if you have only been excluded from the sportsbook offers, you can use these casino offers. These offers can also be used in matched betting, making them valuable to bettors.

• Price Boosts – Price boosts are offers that can still be done on gubbed accounts, as these offer boosted back odds for specific selections. You can use these boosted odds to create a discrepancy between the lay and back odds. If you are interested in using this technique, check out our matched betting calculator to assist you with the complicated mathematics.

Gubbed FAQs

Because restrictions can affect matched betting significantly, there are usually plenty of frequently asked questions about gubbing, which we will cover here.

Can Accounts Be Ungubbed?

Accounts can be unblocked; however, it is very unlikely and not worth pursuing, as you can simply create accounts with other bookmakers. 

How To Avoid Being Gubbed?

Alongside the other tips we have given throughout the blog, ‘mug betting’ is a technique commonly used throughout the industry. Mug betting means to place bets without a strategy, meaning the bookmaker will suspect you are a common punter, and not a matched bettor.