Looking for advice reference casino winnings

Shakin_Steve

My son is a PhD student and likes to play poker. He has studied the game for years, starting off online with sky bet, playing for pennies and learning how other people play. He gradually progressed to playing for pounds and moving up a level every few months.
He now plays in casinos, and wins a lot more than he loses. He is very level headed and sets a budget and walks when it's done. 

To the point: He has approx. £5,000 in his account at the casino. He can either withdraw in cash, any amount he likes, or he can get paid back to his debit card (probably show as a refund).
We are both worried about the bank's reaction to funds arriving from the casino, aware that it could lead to his account being frozen. Withdrawing and spending that amount of cash would be problematic also, especially as the amount is likely to increase.

Any advice for him?

Rob5342

Could he open another account with a different bank and have it refunded to that? It only takes a few minutes in the app.

friolento

Rob5342 said:

Could he open another account with a different bank and have it refunded to that? It only takes a few minutes in the app.

To avoid money laundering, casinos generally refund pay winnings to the card the deposit was made with. It's part of their licence if they are licensed in the UK. Non-UK casinos might have different rules, and might be on the risk list of UK banks....

A separate account for gambling is a good idea. So if the son did use his regular current account for his gambling undertakings, he might want to move those to a different account before attempting to withdraw his £5k to the debit card he used originally. Or just get his winnings in cash, which seems a possibility. He can gradually deposit this into a new current account, or use the money to cover his living costs for the next x months.

grumbler

Shakin_Steve said:

We are both worried about the bank's reaction to funds arriving from the casino, aware that it could lead to his account being frozen. Withdrawing and spending that amount of cash would be problematic also, especially as the amount is likely to increase.

Rob5342 said:

Could he open another account with a different bank and have it refunded to that? It only takes a few minutes in the app.

So, why a different bank is expected to be worried less?

5-10 years ago I made tens of thousands by matched betting online (introductory bonuses, offers for existing customers, arbitrage betting). Most of this money returned to my bank accounts as card refunds without any problems. The biggest worry was that banks, generally, don't like customers-gamblers. And that time AML paranoia hadn't started yet.

Withdraw smaller amounts rather than £5K in one go. And keep the casino account statements in case banks have any questions.

To unload the bank statements from numerous gambling transactions it was advised to use Skrill e-wallet instead that most bookies and casinos accept deposits from and withdrawals to.

Now he has to withdraw to the original card at least the amount(s) he deposited from it to make the net deposits zero. Then he can withdraw the rest by any other means available, e.g. to Skrill. BTW, Skrill used to offer a prepaid(?) card linked to its account that could be used for spending like any other card.

Shakin_Steve

grumbler said:

Shakin_Steve said:

We are both worried about the bank's reaction to funds arriving from the casino, aware that it could lead to his account being frozen. Withdrawing and spending that amount of cash would be problematic also, especially as the amount is likely to increase.

Rob5342 said:

Could he open another account with a different bank and have it refunded to that? It only takes a few minutes in the app.

So, why a different bank is expected to be worried less?

5-10 years ago I made tens of thousands by matched betting online (introductory bonuses, offers for existing customers, arbitrage betting). Most of this money returned to my bank accounts as card refunds without any problems. The biggest worry was that banks, generally, don't like customers-gamblers. And that time AML paranoia hadn't started yet.

Withdraw smaller amounts rather than £5K in one go. And keep the casino account statements in case banks have any questions.

To unload the bank statements from numerous gambling transactions it was advised to use Skrill e-wallet instead that most bookies and casinos accept deposits from and withdrawals to.

Now he has to withdraw to the original card at least the amount(s) he deposited from it to make the net deposits zero. Then he can withdraw the rest by any other means available, e.g. to Skrill. BTW, Skrill used to offer a prepaid(?) card linked to its account that could be used for spending like any other card.

Thanks, grumbler, he is going to look into skrill. 

£5000 is his current balance, he's won quite a bit more. I have spent a lot of my time over the last year in queues waiting to pay in cash. I reckon I've spent a couple of grand at supermarkets for him, and then sending money to his account. The bank must think that dad's a soft touch.

Shakin_Steve

friolento said:

Rob5342 said:

Could he open another account with a different bank and have it refunded to that? It only takes a few minutes in the app.

To avoid money laundering, casinos generally refund pay winnings to the card the deposit was made with. It's part of their licence if they are licensed in the UK. Non-UK casinos might have different rules, and might be on the risk list of UK banks....

A separate account for gambling is a good idea. So if the son did use his regular current account for his gambling undertakings, he might want to move those to a different account before attempting to withdraw his £5k to the debit card he used originally. Or just get his winnings in cash, which seems a possibility. He can gradually deposit this into a new current account, or use the money to cover his living costs for the next x months.

He's just informed me (he's full of shi.....surprises) that he originally paid for £100 worth of chips in cash. That's it, no more deposits. Complicates matters even more. The casino have offered to pay to his debit card, but god knows what that would show up as.

grumbler

What casino is it?

If he makes a small deposit from Skrill (adds this method to his casino account),  then, AFAIK, he has to be allowed to withdraw as much as he wants to Skrill. But my experience was with online bookies, yours seems to be a high-street one?

Rob5342

grumbler said:

Shakin_Steve said:

We are both worried about the bank's reaction to funds arriving from the casino, aware that it could lead to his account being frozen. Withdrawing and spending that amount of cash would be problematic also, especially as the amount is likely to increase.

Rob5342 said:

Could he open another account with a different bank and have it refunded to that? It only takes a few minutes in the app.

So, why a different bank is expected to be worried less?

I wouldn't expect them to worry less, but if they do freeze it then you can still carry on using the main account

adamp87

Whilst another account to use for gambling is a good idea, I don’t think the bank will bat an eyelid. He’s not the first nor the last to win at a casino and they’ll be able to see it coming from a firm. They could just as easy highlight you for any value transaction to be fair 

penners324

Is he declaring these winnings to hmrc? He may well be considered a professional poker player.....

Also the bank may think that as well and require he have a business account 

SuperExcelMan

penners324 said:

Is he declaring these winnings to hmrc? He may well be considered a professional poker player.....

Also the bank may think that as well and require he have a business account 

All gambling winnings are tax exempt in the UK, whether amateur or professional. Doesn’t matter if it’s football, roulette, poker, slots, everything is tax free. For now.

Google it if you disagree.