Why is value betting against casino TOS?

[bhadz]

It's basically because they're being taken advantaged of the odds they provide to the gamblers. I don't know how to find these and so those who are finding them are actually taking time in finding those. I think the bookies should blame the providers and these value bettors are probably just also waiting for some of those bets to have that value greater than it actually is. And when they see that, before the odd changes, they're quick to place their bets before the bookie actually realizes that it's not the usual odds that they should have made for those specific games.

But they have no time to blame the providers. They’ll lose money if they let bettors win on those mistakes. So instead, they just void the bet, or if it already got graded as a win, they freeze the balance and ban the player. It’s not fair, but if it’s written in the TOS, they have every reason to do it without facing any legal consequences.

The only thing at risk for them is their reputation. People see it as unfair, and once gamblers lose trust, the casino loses players.

Yes, that's one way for them to simply stop those bettors who takes advantage of value bets. They can void the bets and that's why some of those bettors probably are surprised when they've won the bets and yet, upon checking the validity and result of it, they'd see a null or void status of it. While that is unfair on the perspective of the gamblers, they have to take it and decide whether to continue gambling there or should they just stop gambling with the casino that did that to them.

[mirakal]

Ya, I learnt about value bets a few weeks ago right here on the forum when one member mentioned it as a "good strat". TIL it's actually illegal to go after such odds and why I've known the reason such bets exist in the first place, I do not think gamblers should be punished because of it especially since the fault is not from the gambler per se. Market inefficiencies exist on almost all markets and anyone who gets finds an edge via market efficiencies shouldn't be punished.

This is just my 2 cents.

Was that value betting the same thing we’re talking about here? Might be worth double-checking, because it could be different. When we say strategy, that usually means something you can do consistently. What we’re discussing here feels more like a bookie error, and that only happens on very rare occasions.

[nelson4lov]

[...]

Was that value betting the same thing we’re talking about here? Might be worth double-checking, because it could be different. When we say strategy, that usually means something you can do consistently. What we’re discussing here feels more like a bookie error, and that only happens on very rare occasions.

Ya, it's the same. Apologies for not being clear enough. I've forgotten the thread where someone explained it here on forum. He certainly said it was a "good strategy" to look for these value bets and take them. I did ask how to spot them but didn't get a response back. Imagine my surprise to learn that looking for such errors and exploiting  is not a strat but a foul play against bookies. Fwiw, I never considered it a strategy or put efforts to find these value bets.

[mirakal]

Ya, it's the same. Apologies for not being clear enough. I've forgotten the thread where someone explained it here on forum. He certainly said it was a "good strategy" to look for these value bets and take them. I did ask how to spot them but didn't get a response back. Imagine my surprise to learn that looking for such errors and exploiting  is not a strat but a foul play against bookies. Fwiw, I never considered it a strategy or put efforts to find these value bets.

It’s really not a good strategy. If you win, there’s a chance they won’t pay you. If you lose, of course they won’t refund you. Worst case, your account gets closed and your balance might even be forfeited. Just think about that for a second.

If someone is still doing it, they’re basically just hoping the bet doesn’t win so the system won’t get triggered. That alone already tells you how risky and stupid that approach is.

[Ziskinberg]

It’s really not a good strategy. If you win, there’s a chance they won’t pay you. If you lose, of course they won’t refund you. Worst case, your account gets closed and your balance might even be forfeited. Just think about that for a second.

If someone is still doing it, they’re basically just hoping the bet doesn’t win so the system won’t get triggered. That alone already tells you how risky and stupid that approach is.

All of that points to the casino’s advantage. It’s mainly there to discourage cheating, or what they usually call value betting. We can have different opinions on that, though. Personally, I’d also criticize a casino that shows wrong odds, lets gamblers bet on it, then later voids the bet after the result. That feels like they’re taking money from players in a shady way.

But it is what it is. It’s written in their TOS. If someone really wants to challenge it, the only real option is to question the TOS itself or even sue them for having unfair terms. Realistically though, I doubt a typical gambler would go that far.