Sports betting companies weed out winners. Gamblers want to know why.

livemint.com:

Online sports betting companies enlist celebrities, offer free bets and dole out perks to promote a tantalizing possibility: winning. But some gamblers who manage to beat sportsbooks say they are often shut down when they succeed too much. Dave Holmes, a sports bettor in Chicago, said that as he started to win more using a math-based wagering strategy, companies including BetMGM, ESPN Bet and Caesars began rejecting his bets.

He typically puts down about $100 per bet. Some companies have offered instead to accept as little as 50 cents. “I would love to actually be given an answer to why it’s happening, and they refuse to do that," Holmes said.

Some frequent gamblers search the odds on everything from National Football League and Major League Baseball games to table tennis and darts, seeking weaknesses in prices set by sportsbooks and making advantageous wagers, much the way hedge funds seek opportunities to pounce on undervalued stocks. Bettors who have been reined in say the mystery of why and when it happens is frustrating. Some have suggested that sportsbooks be required to offer the same maximum for all bettors or explain why some bettors are subject to different limits within the apps they use regularly.

Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission held a public discussion on wager limits, raising questions and seeking answers on how online sports-betting companies decide how much money to accept from individual customers. Several sports-betting companies licensed in the state—including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN Bet and Fanatics—agreed to attend the session but didn’t show up, citing concerns that proprietary business information would be made public, according to the commission. They have