Bookmaker Funds Protection

Matched Betting is generally considered to be risk free. You place a back bet, you lay the same bet. You can't lose, right?

Whilst that is the case when it's done right, there are of course some risks, such as human error. One risk, that you may not have considered, is how protected your funds are with a bookie.

Bookmaker Funds Protection.

If a bookmaker goes bust, your funds might not be protected.

Bookmakers do go bust, and when they do, it isn't always a happy ending for Matched Bettors.

If a bookmaker goes bust and offers no fund protection, they'll usually use funds to pay their staff, and other creditors first. Paying out people's account balances can be the last priority. If you have any money in a bookie that goes bust, you aren't guaranteed to get it back.

So How/When Are You Protected?

Bookmakers offer varying levels of protection and they are obliged to state this on their site. There are 3 levels of protection:

1) High
2) Medium
3) Basic (sometimes referred to as "no protection")

High Protection
With this level of protection, you can matched bet knowing that if the website goes bust, your funds will be safe. They hold every penny in account(s) that are controlled by an independent person or auditor. If they do end up becoming insolvent, you'll have no issues receiving your funds.

Medium Protection
This is also a very good level of protection. Money is kept in a separate account and there is generally some form of insurance/plan set up should the website go bust. There is no guarantee that you'll get all your money back, but for sites in this list, you should feel quite comfortable.

Basic/No Protection

Bookies closing down and not paying out is of course rare. But, having large bankrolls in sites offering no protection is a bad idea. If the website goes bust, your money is not protected. So, there is a chance that you could lose everything and there's nothing you can do about it.

With this being said... a website closing doesn't always mean they've gone bankrupt. Sites decide to close for various reasons, and the majority pay out with no issues. But there is a risk, and for some of the lesser known sites, you should avoid keeping large amounts of money in them.

Below is a table showing the main bookmakers and which category they fall in to.