Do Online Casinos Really Ban Players Who Win Too Much?

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If you know anything about casinos, you’ll note that the house always wins. The reason casinos exist is to separate gamblers from their hard-earned cash, in return for an enjoyable and entertaining experience.

Hence, to enter a casino with the expectation of turning a profit is to set yourself up for a rocky ride.

Consequently, it is not uncommon to hear tales of people being thrown out of casinos for hitting the jackpot. Either by sheer look or through their own doing, they pocket the kinds of paydays that can be genuinely life-changing. After which, they are quickly given their marching orders.

But is there any truth to rumours and anecdotes like these? Are casinos really in the habit of turfing out those who win too much?

More importantly, is it possible to get banned from an online casino, simply for being too lucky?

Banned for Winning Too Much Money 

Truth is, the subject needs to be divided into two separate sub-topics. 

Firstly, you have those who win massive sums of money in a single payout. You hit the jackpot at a slot, you have a fantastic run of luck at the blackjack table, or you pocket a small fortune on the turn of a card while playing high-stakes baccarat. 

In all such instances, the likelihood of you being thrown out or banned is practically zero.  If anything, the casino will probably want to make a song and dance about your fortuitous visit. They might take your picture with a huge cheque, and your name might get in the local/national press. 

Rather than throwing you out or banning you, they’ll more likely do everything within their power to convince you to stay.  Two reasons for this – the first of which is the likelihood you’ll give them back at least some of their winnings.  You suddenly feel rich and invulnerable, so you won’t think twice about spending (i.e. losing) a fair amount of money.

Secondly, your story stands to inspire those around you. If you’ve managed to strike it lucky out of nowhere, why not them?  Tales of people walking out of casinos with massive sums of money never fail to encourage others to spend even more of their own money. 

Hence, for a casino to ban you (or kick you out) after pocketing a small fortune would actually prove counterproductive. 

Banned for Winning Too Often 

Meanwhile, you have those who don’t pocket huge sums of cash all at once, but instead gradually accrue sizeable sums of money with consecutive wins. This could again be a case of luck or skill on the part of the player, resulting in them winning with suspicious regularity.

This is where things get a little sketchier, both where offline and offline casinos are concerned.

Statistically speaking, there should never be an instance where a person wins any casino game disproportionately often. All games are stacked against the player, in a way that ensures the house always wins (eventually).

What this means is that all winning streaks ultimately come to an end, and most casino experiences and in a loss.  This is how they make their money, and how they are able to stay in business.

Consequently, alarm bells ring at casinos when things shift in the opposite direction.  When there is a player who is clearly winning more than they are losing (and doing so on a fairly consistent basis), foul play may be suspected.

Given the fact that they are technically doing something that shouldn’t be statistically possible, there must be something wrong. 

Perhaps a software glitch they have learned to exploit, maybe a card-counting genius at the blackjack table – all technically viable explanations.

As such, casinos can and indeed do occasionally show customers the door, simply for winning too much. With no explanation or fair grounds for such dismissals, they simply tell those in question not to return.

But as you would need to seriously get on the wrong side of the casino for this to happen, it isn’t something most people will ever have to contend with.

More Common Reasons for Casino Exclusions

Aside from being far too lucky and/or supposedly cheating the system, there are several much more common reasons casinos exclude customers.  Both online and in the real world, the following could see you escorted to the door, and asked to stay away for good:

1.  Attempting to cheat

Even if the whole thing comes to nothing and you lose your entire wage packet, any attempt to cheat will see you excluded permanently.  Truth is, cheating successfully at any casino game (online or offline) is practically impossible.  By contrast, spotting attempts to cheat is fairly easy, so you’re highly unlikely to get away with it.

2. Gambling underage

Most online and offline casinos restrict their services to adults aged 18 or over, but there are some you have to be aged at least 21 to play at.  If you are found to have gambled under this minimum age, the casino has every right to withhold your cash, and ban you for life. 

3. Geographic restrictions

The same can also be said for using VPNs (and similar countermeasures) to get around the geographic restrictions imposed by some online casinos.  If it specifically states in a casino’s T&Cs that your country is excluded, you shouldn’t attempt to play any of their games. You simply run the risk of losing all of your money, and being banned permanently.

4. Irresponsible gambling

You could also be banned from a casino by displaying any of the signs or symptoms of gambling addiction.  This is the kind of ‘friendly’ prohibition that’s imposed for the player’s benefit, so as to help stem the tide of what could be an escalating issue.

5. Inappropriate behaviour

Last up, conduct yourself inappropriately (while intoxicated or otherwise) at any conventional casino and it’s game over.  Make no mistake about it – the establishment’s security contingency is watching you at all times, and waiting to pounce the first time you overstep the mark.

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