// GLOSSARY
Restriction
Restriction is a sportsbook lowering the maximum bet size on a specific customer's account, typically after that customer has shown a pattern of beating the closing line over a meaningful sample. It is a targeted, account-level action rather than a market-wide limit that applies to every customer.
In practice, restriction can show up gradually: a $500 max bet quietly becomes $50, or a customer who used to get instant bet acceptance starts seeing bets held for manual review or rejected outright. Some books stop short of a full account closure and instead restrict a customer to a token stake, effectively locking them out without formally banning them.
This is a structural feature of the retail sportsbook business model, not an edge case or a rules violation on the bettor's part. Retail books acquire customers expecting a typical, unprofitable lifecycle; a consistent winner breaks that assumption, and restriction is how the model protects itself. Sharp books operate on a different model and generally do not restrict winners the same way.
Restriction is a signal, not an accusation. A restricted account is, more often than not, evidence that the underlying process was actually generating edge, since books restrict based on demonstrated closing-line performance, not suspicion.
Related terms: Limit, Sharp money
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