What Can Stop You From Getting Paid by Online Sportsbooks?
If you are playing at reputable online sportsbooks, getting paid will usually be fast, easy and straightforward. You will submit your withdrawal request, wait for it to process, and receive your money.
But there are some situations where you might run into hassles or holdups. Below, we go over some of the most common reasons you might have a hard time making a withdrawal at a sports betting site. We also offer solutions for dealing with each of these potential snags.
Don’t let yourself become this guy wondering why he can’t have his money!
You Still Need to Verify Your Identity
Did you submit your documents to verify your identity when you signed up at your sports betting site? No? Then you probably are not going to be able to make a withdrawal.
Most reputable online sportsbooks follow a process called “Know Your Customer” (KYC). Under KYC protocols, you need to verify your identity and age to withdraw funds from your account.
The purpose of KYC is to protect the sportsbook and customers from fraud.
“But I did verify my identity,” you might say. “Why are they asking me to do it again?”
It could be that there is some detail of your information that is mismatched. Maybe you got a new credit card since the last time you made a withdrawal, or perhaps there is an inconsistency between the information you registered with and the information in your verification paperwork.
Another possibility is that you are trying to withdraw a much larger amount of money than usual. The site could be just doing an extra security check to protect you from identity theft.
If there have been any security issues with your account, that could also prompt a repeat request for verification documents. Even something as simple as switching from one withdrawal method to another could prompt a check.
Additionally, sometimes sports betting websites simply repeat their checks at sporadic intervals. It could be that absolutely nothing has gone wrong – the site is just being extra careful!
- How to Fix This:
Sorting this issue out is usually really easy. You just need to comply with what the sports betting site is asking you to do and submit your identity verification documents.
What you can do as you go forward is keep copies of those documents somewhere easy to access so that you can resubmit them at a moment’s notice in the future if you have to.
- Key Point:
You need to verify your identity to withdraw from your sports betting account. Sometimes you have to do it more than once.
You Keep Hitting Withdrawal Limits
We’ve all got our limits, even the Sportsbooks!
Something else that might stop you from making a withdrawal is attempting to withdraw more money than you can for the method you have selected.
Every sports betting website has a page that tells you the limits for depositing and withdrawing via each method the site accepts.
For example, let’s say you are betting at BetOnline.ag. According to the site’s banking page, the maximum withdrawal you can make using a money order is $4,500.
So, naturally, if you try to withdraw $5,000 all at once via money order, that transaction will not go through.
- How to Fix This:
There are two options in a situation like this:
- Simply break down your withdrawal into multiple transactions,
- Change methods and pick one with a higher withdrawal limit.
For instance, you could make your withdrawal using BTC, which has a maximum withdrawal size of $100,000.
While choosing a new withdrawal method might not be entirely convenient, it may help you get your money faster and might help you minimize fees.
- Key Point:
There are withdrawal caps for each transfer method on every betting site. You can only withdraw up to those amounts using those methods.
The Amount You Thought You Won Exceeded a Maximum Winning Cap
While most punters are probably aware of maximum withdrawal amounts, not all are aware that winnings themselves are sometimes limited to a certain amount.
These limitations usually come into play when you are making parlays and other accumulator bets.
To give you an example, if you win $250,000 on a parlay bet you make at Bovada, how much money would you expect to be able to withdraw? Probably $250,000, right?
Nope. The correct answer is $100,000, because that is the maximum payout amount Bovada allows for a parlay bet.
- How to Fix This:
There is no getting around the existence of limits on payouts for parlays or other types of wagers. They are what they are.
Your best course of action is:
- Choose websites on which to wager that have reasonably high maximum payouts on wins,
- Do some calculations, and set your stake size so that if you win, you will be able to withdraw all your winnings.
Can you just make multiple smaller parlay bets on one site that would produce winnings that add up to what you really want, and then withdraw each of them within the maximum payout limit?
Maybe, maybe not. Some sportsbooks might allow this. Others manage to avoid it by having policies in place that restrict the total amount you can win within a particular time period, i.e. a day.
You could instead simply make individual parlays across multiple sports betting sites that add up to more than the payout limit for any one of them.
So, for a single event, you could end up with the following:
- $100,000 won at site A
- $100,000 won at site B
- $100,000 won at site C
Between those sites, you could withdraw $300,000 in winnings even if the limit on all three sites is $100,000.
If you are trying to figure out which sportsbooks offer the highest maximum payouts for parlays, have a look at this post.
- Key Point:
Sportsbooks set maximum payout amounts for different types of wagers and sometimes limit win amounts per week or per day. If you are not able to withdraw the full amount of money you think you won, check these limitations. You might have run into them.
You Have Unmet Rollover Requirements
Probably the most common reason why sportsbook customers cannot withdraw their winnings is that they have unmet bonus rollover requirements.
When customers do not know about bonus requirements and/or do not understand them, they can end up very confused and upset.
Here is how rollover typically works:
- You make a deposit. For example, you might put $100 in a sports betting account.
- You accept a match bonus. Let’s say for this example it is 100%.
- You receive the match bonus in your account. You now have $100 (your deposit) + $100 (bonus money) = $200 to bet with.
- You start gambling.
- As you turn over funds by wagering them, you are working toward meeting the bonus rollover requirement.
The rollover requirement might be, for instance, 5x.
That would mean you need to wager 5x the amount of the bonus plus your deposit to meet the requirement.
In this case, that would be $200 x 5 = $1,000.
If you attempt to make a withdrawal before you meet the rollover requirement, the betting site may tell you that it cannot process it.
- How to Fix This:
If you want to make a withdrawal and you have yet to meet the rollover requirement, the solution is straightforward: just keep betting until you meet the rollover requirement.
The big issue here really has nothing to do with the existence of rollover requirements. It has to do with the ignorance of customers.
Reputable sportsbooks do not hide their rollover requirements. They put their bonus terms and conditions in plain view for you to read before you accept a bonus.
The only reason customers miss this information is by rushing ahead and not paying attention.
So, if you want to avoid being surprised by rollover requirements, just make sure you slow down, read the terms and conditions, and understand how they affect withdrawals. Then you can accept the bonus.
- Key Point:
Sometimes sportsbooks will not let customers withdraw their winnings because they need to meet the rollover requirements to which they agreed.
And if you’re looking for something else to read, try this on for size, “7 Misconceptions About Sports Betting Bonuses”
The Sportsbook Believes You Have Committed Some Sort of Abuse
If a sportsbook thinks you are cheating in some way, they may stop you from making a withdrawal until they sort it out.
This might happen if:
- The site suspects you of bonus abuse.
- The site thinks you have attempted to hack it.
- The site thinks you have exploited a bug or glitch.
- Etc.
They just want to make sure that they are not paying you out money that you did not fairly win according to their rules.
- How to Fix This:
Well, if the reason you are in this predicament is that you did break the rules, the solution is to accept the outcome and not do it again. You will be lucky if the site does not boot you entirely.
If you are pretty sure you did not break any rules, you will need to take up the issue with the sportsbook.
The best way to deal with this is to politely inquire what is going on and what you can do to help fix it as quickly as possible.
You may feel like yelling at someone, especially if there is a lot of money on the line. Doing so will only put the agents you are working with on the defensive, however. They may then be less cooperative.
So, do your best to remain polite. You will likely get further that way. You can be assertive and firm without becoming hostile.
At some point, it might become appropriate to threaten further action, such as involving arbitration or posting negative feedback through social media.
You can still do your best to remain civil even if you have to resort to such measures.
- Key Point:
If your sportsbook thinks you are breaking the rules, they may hold up the withdrawal process until they can sort out what happened.
You Are Simply Being Impatient
Nobody likes being told to calm down, but sometimes that’s just what you need!
Occasionally, when it seems like you are not able to get your money out of your account, it could be that what is wrong is actually nothing.
Sometimes transactions take longer than we expect them to. In particular, cryptocurrency networks can experience surprisingly long delays at times.
If you have an anxious disposition, at times like this, you might worry that something has gone wrong and that you will not get your money. But you are probably going to be just fine.
- How to Fix This:
Most of the time, this issue should go away if you just stay patient and wait a little longer. The transfer will finally go through, and you will have your money.
If you really are worried something went wrong, you can start by contacting the sportsbook. See if they have processed your transaction correctly at their end.
Assuming they did, it should show up eventually. But if you need to follow up further, additional steps will depend on the transfer method you used.
For example, if it was a wire transfer, you would need to reach out to the bank or the third party that was handling the transfer.
- Key Point:
Occasionally, something might go wrong in the middle of a transfer. But usually, if there is a delay, it will only be that. You will probably get your money if you are patient.
You Did Not Choose a Trustworthy or Reliable Sports Betting Site at Which to Place Your Wagers.
One more possible reason why you might not be able to make a successful withdrawal from a sportsbook account online is that you picked the wrong site to be dealing with.
With an increasing focus on regulation and compliance around the globe, the landscape of sports betting sites has shifted toward those that are reputable, solvent, and reliable.
But there are still some dodgy operators out there. Some of these sites may have bad intentions, while others may simply be poorly-funded.
If you deposit money on a site that fits either of those descriptions, there is a chance that you will not be able to withdraw that money again or the money you win betting on the site.
- How to Fix This:
The way to resolve this problem is to stop using shady sites for betting online. Instead, join those that are well-established and financially viable. Nowadays, there are so many excellent options, so there is really no excuse not to do this!
A good starting point is to check out our reviews. Some of these sites we recommend have been in business for decades. So, you can count on them to pay out each and every time!
Withdrawal Problems are Rare with Reliable Sites and Smart Practices
On the whole, withdrawal problems are not issues you should run into often. Just follow these best practices:
- Join safe and trusted sportsbooks.
- Accept bonuses only after you understand their rollover requirements.
- Pick withdrawal methods that suit your needs.
- Complete KYC verification.
- Look up limits on winnings and withdrawals.
- Be patient and polite.
- Don’t break the rules.
Have fun wagering, winning, and withdrawing on top sports betting sites!
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