Player Says Fanatics Sportsbook Limited Him to $16.50 for Winning Too Much: Reaches Out to Lawmakers

• “Casinos are private companies and have the right to ask gamblers to leave, or change the limits of bets at any time,” wrote Colorado Department of Revenue's Communication Director.

• “Casinos draw in customers by saying you can win here. So, I think it’s important they allow people to win," a disgruntled Denver area sports bettor says.

• Last week it was reported that seven sportsbooks plan to start a "player blacklist".

• Some sportsbooks looking to take a different approach by welcoming high stakes sports gamblers.

Winning Too Much a Losing Proposition?

It's a common complaint we hear across the board: Sports bettors having their limits cut to near nothing simply for winning too much money.

One Denver area gambler intends to take action.

Cody Sudmeier shared with Denver affiliate News 9 that, over a six-week stretch between December and January, he won more than $50,000 on various sportsbook apps.

Having previously placed bets between $1000 and $2000, Sudmeier soon noticed his limits were being reduced to $100.

“At first I thought this can’t be right, you’d think the casinos are typically trying to get you to bet more,” said Sudmeier. “So, I email customer support, and you get canned responses. You can tell this is something they get a lot, and this is common practice for these guys.”

One of the sportsbooks, Fanantics, limited the Colorado sports bettor to just $16.50 and provided News 9 with a screenshot.

News 9 reached out to Colorado's Department of Revenue and were told there is nothing illegal about the practice when it comes to drastically reducing betting limits or even giving customers the boot altogether.

“Casinos are private companies and have the right to ask gamblers to leave, or change the limits of bets at any time,” wrote Dierctor of Communications of the Colorado Department of Revenue, Dan Carr, in an email to the news station. “Every sports book in Colorado is tied to a brick and mortar casino, so the same rules would apply for the app-based sports books as well.”

For his part, Sudmeier says he intends to reach out to state legislators to complain.

“I don’t think it’s fair at all. It’s a regulated industry, and at its core, there’s an assumption that if you’re gambling, there is the possibility that you can win,” said Sudmeier. “Casinos draw in customers by saying you can win here. So, I think it’s important they allow people to win.”

He could draw a sympathetic ear.

Lawmakers in Colorado already began cracking down on sportsbook companies for engaging in behavior deemed to be unethical last year. More specifically, PointsBet was forced to end its sports betting deal with the University of Colorado.

And we're not talking about a few posters plastered around campus advertising PointsBet.

The University of Colorado Boulder’s 2020 deal with PointsBet included a $30 referral bonus every time someone signed up on PointsBet with the university’s promo code and placed a bet. 

“PointsBet and the University of Colorado have decided it is mutually beneficial to end their partnership at this time. Both parties are thankful for the joint efforts throughout the relationship and wish the best for each organization going forward,” PointsBet issued in a statement this week.

It should be noted that Colorado is among the growing number of states prohibiting player prop bets on NCAA games.

Reported Blacklist Likely to Make Things Worse

Last week, Gambling911.com reported on a proposed player blacklist that will be shared among a host of sportsbooks.

Professional sports bettor Captain Jack first reported on the plan.

"The obvious problem is they will also create the definition of what a 'problem' is to them," commented pro sports bettor Captain Jack via his Twitter feed.

And Jack specifically warns of Bet365 being what he sees as one of the more blatant offenders.

"Bet365 has a track record of using problem gambling as an excuse to exclude sharp bettors," he claims.

The group, calling itself the Responsible Online Gaming Association, or ROGA, provided very little in the way of any details as to how they will go about sharing player information, the intended use and what might trigger such an action.

“I’m incredibly excited to move this forward and to really do some impactful things and to really expand the knowledge through the research and to create these evidence-based best practices and to really empower players with information,” said Jennifer Shatley, executive director of ROGA.

Some Books Taking a Different Approach

Prime Sports made it clear that they have zero intention of imposing draconian maximum betting limits on customers after launching in New Jersey this past week. 

"Winners & arbers welcome, along with everyone in between," that site proclaimed via its Twitter account.

Arbitrage betting (or “arbing”, “arbs”, or “sure bets”) involves placing bets on both sites of a game at different lines in order to guarantee a profit.

Prime Sports follows the lead of Circa Sports, which operates as part of the famed Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.  It also offers mobile betting in Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky and Illinois.  The gambling company has long been a fixture among high stakes sports bettors.

Ahead of the upcoming Masters Golf Tournament, Circa Sports Director of Operations Jeffrey Benson tweeted out in regard to the Vegas counter operation:  "We want to write any bet that we can that wins a realistic amount of money so having people come to the counter for bigger bets is recommended or DM/message me. We’ll try to accommodate all requests we can without killing our hard working Golf Dept. of 2. Thanks for your bets!"

Pinnacle Sports, operating in Ontario, Canada, has long been accommodating to sharp bettors.

Chewing the fat with @SportsbkConsig & @sportstalkmatt about the launch of @primesportsbook in NJ and OH (KY coming soon) https://t.co/hcfCtt22aE

— Joe Brennan Jr (@joebrennanjr) April 4, 2024

Meanwhile, over at ESPN Bet it's business as.... unusual.

One Redditor relayed his experience last month.

"Getting heavily limited. Can't get more than $50 down on a straight wager and not more than $10 down on a prop lol. Anything I can do to get ESPNbet to lighten up on these? Not trying to bet a grand a game, just wanna be able to get a couple hundred down on stuff."

Good luck there.

- Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com