{"id":6664,"date":"2021-09-09T12:46:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T12:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/?page_id=6664"},"modified":"2021-09-16T14:15:10","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T14:15:10","slug":"how-to-read-betting-site-terms-and-conditions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/articles\/betting-guide\/how-to-read-betting-site-terms-and-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Read Betting Site Terms and Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"
We\u2019ve all been in those situations where something goes wrong or an issue crops up and a company will say something along the lines of, \u201cwell, it is written in the small print\u201d or \u201cthat is stated in our terms and conditions\u201d. Naturally, nobody really reads these in full, do they? And why? Because they\u2019re often 5,000 words long and reading through them would take a long time. Not only that, but they often incorporate technical terms or business lingo that sometimes doesn\u2019t make sense to the average person. However, it is really important to know about certain parts of the terms and conditions of anything, so that you know what you\u2019re signing into and up for.<\/p>\n
The same is true when it comes to online gambling sites. They should always offer a look at terms and conditions for you. And even though these also tend to go on for a long time, there are vital parts of these that you need to be aware of as a player. How should you read these terms and conditions without getting bogged down with too much technical jargon or getting fed up before you reach the end? That\u2019s what we\u2019re here to speak about and inform you of. Because there are certain key points that you ought to be looking out for when it comes to the small print at online gambling sites.<\/p>\n
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It is easy to locate specific areas of the small print provided by casinos and sportsbooks. Simply hit the Ctrl + F buttons on your keyboard and you can type any term into the box that shows up. Then, the document will highlight all parts of the conditions where that term is written. This makes navigating through the document a lot easier. At the same time, you can find the key pieces of information necessary to your gambling experience at your chosen site.<\/p>\n
What are the key terms that you should be seeking out when you view the terms and conditions of any online betting site? Well, here are some of our recommendations and details on why these should be a prime focus for you.<\/p>\n
It is common knowledge for all players that to be able to engage in real money gambling, you need to deposit money into your casino or sportsbook account. That money is then usable for you to be able to place bets on the various sports markets, casino games, poker rooms and so on. A key part of the terms and conditions regarding depositing is that the payment method you use should be in your name if it is a card deposit or bank transfer or e-wallet. Someone else does not have the permission to make a deposit into your account nor use it on your behalf.<\/p>\n
It also key to note that the account cannot be utilised as a sort of bank account. Essentially, this relates to you depositing money into it to save up and then withdraw in the same way you would as a bank account. A platform will usually denote a specific timeframe in which you need to use the money in your account to gamble, otherwise it will be classified as \u2018Inactive\u2019. Such is the case at William Hill<\/a> after a period of thirteen weeks has passed in section 2.4 of its T&Cs.<\/p>\n A site must also inform you of where your deposited funds are stored<\/a>. This matters enormously in the cases of a company becoming insolvent. Should all player funds be stored in the same location as the company funds, then there is no telling what money is being used up by the company. Should insolvency hit, then there would be no protection for the funds you have deposited in this instance. Essentially, your deposited funds as well as any winnings would be lost forever. Therefore, a casino or sportsbook needs to have a separate account for player funds, keeping them apart from its own funds. If you see this as part of a site\u2019s conditions, then you know that your deposited money is protected against such potential issues arising.<\/p>\n Sites will state either no protection (funds held in a separate account but not protected in the event of insolvency), medium (some form of insurance to protect customer funds if a company goes bust) or high (funds held and managed independently meaning you will get a full refund if a company fails).\u00a0 Ultimately you should be looking for medium or high protection, especially if you commonly leave significant amounts of funds in betting accounts.<\/p>\n Remember gambling companies are not banks and you shouldn’t rely on them to protect your money in the same way.<\/p>\n There may be a time when you forget about gambling or become disinterested in participating in such. This could result in you pretty much abandoning your gaming account for a time period or forever. If you leave an account inactive and it still has a balance, then platforms will usually write rules into their terms and conditions surrounding such. The Betfair<\/a> platform for example, has an entire section dedicated to information about inactive periods and fees charged for such.<\/p>\n Within those rules, the terms state that the company will charge you a fee on a monthly basis. If you have not logged in for 13 consecutive months or more and your account is in credit, then you will be contacted by email after the first 12 months of inactivity. Should there still be no activity on your account following this timeframe, then the Inactive Account Fee will be applied until the balance reaches zero. The fee can differ from platform to platform, although Betfair does not charge UK players such a fee. If you are located outside of the UK though, this charge is roughly \u00a35 per month.<\/p>\n It is important for you to learn about this fee before you sign up because if you do intend to leave the world of online gambling, it may be more beneficial to you to withdraw your balance at the same time.<\/p>\n Some people may not know it, but online sports betting sites can impose payout limits on different sports and associated markets. If you are expecting a large reward from wagering on a specific event, then you should always make sure this is actually plausible via the terms and conditions of the site.<\/p>\n Generally, you will find that the largest payouts can come from betting on football matches taking place. Different sites have different maximums in place, so while a maximum of \u00a32,000,000 can be won and paid out from William Hill, BetVictor<\/a> only offers maximums of \u00a3500,000 in comparison. If you look at horse racing side-by-side with football though, William Hill has a reduced maximum payout of \u00a31,000,000, but the BetVictor limit remains as \u00a3500,000.<\/p>\n Sports like tennis, golf, rugby, darts, snooker, cricket, Formula 1 and so on have even lower maximum payout limits. This limit should always be stated within the T&Cs.<\/p>\n Beware of novelty and special bets, e.g. betting on TV shows, the next Pope or James Bond, winner of BBC Sports Personality of the year, etc. These bets tend to have the lowest payout rates, which can sometimes be as low as \u00a3500.<\/p>\n While many sites will not let you stake more than you can win not all sites do, therefore check in advance if placing big bets or bets with high odds or you could end up getting back less than you expected.<\/p>\n Many terms and conditions will also place a focus on terms surrounding being able to withdraw money from the sites. Naturally, as a player who will likely want to cash out at some point, it is ideal to know what limitations are in place regarding this. An entire section is dedicated to deposits and withdrawals at the LeoVegas<\/a> online casino. These dictate the fact that a minimum withdrawal of \u00a310 is in place, but that you can request a lower amount by contacting customer support.<\/p>\n It is also worth checking for fees on deposits and withdrawals.\u00a0 Most sites have no fees these days but sometimes they levy a fee if you make more than a set number of withdrawals or if you deposit and withdraw without playing with that money.\u00a0 Methods such as pay by phone and other less common methods can also carry fees.<\/p>\n Looking back to the Betfair terms, information within states that identity verification is required for any customer reaching the amount of \u00a32,000 in deposits prior to a withdrawal being able to be made.<\/p>\n Some platforms do place additional restrictions on the amount that you can withdraw every day, week or month, too. Sometimes, limits can be imposed on each transaction you make, too. Usually, an online betting site will restrict you from requesting more than the daily amount or per transaction amount via the cashier anyway. But, it\u2019s ideal to be aware of the limits imposed overall, because if you reach a point of trying to request more than the limit in place, you won\u2019t know why it is being denied to you.<\/p>\n One example where maximum withdrawal limits can come into play is if you have a big jackpot win.\u00a0 Let’s say you win a progressive jackpot with a site in the millions but that site has a monthly maximum withdrawal limit of \u00a350,000 (for example), it would take you a long time to get those funds out and all of that time your funds are at risk if the company should go bust.<\/p>\n While it is usually the case that errors won\u2019t occur at online betting sites, anything is possible. You need to know about the sort of protocol in place should something go wrong. Of course, errors can affect you in a big way without a certain set of rules in place, and so it is important that you know how a platform deals with such.<\/p>\nRules Surrounding Periods of Inactivity<\/h2>\n
Payout Limits<\/h2>\n
Withdrawal Limitations<\/h2>\n
Errors and Cancellations<\/h2>\n