Beard Betting Term Meaning

A ‘beard’, when used in the context of betting, refers to a person who places a bet (or bets) on behalf of someone else so the identity of the actual bettor remains unknown.

The use of a false beard has been used as a form of disguise for centuries, and this is how this betting term got its name. It does not specifically mean the person placing the bets is using a beard, but rather they are acting to conceal the true identity of the person betting.

There are several reasons why someone would use a beard instead of just placing the bet themselves. 

Here are a few of the most common:

If a player has been banned from a particular betting website or retail betting shop, they may use a beard to place their wagers for them. Perhaps this particular bookmaker offers the best odds, or an unusual type of bet, or a sport that can’t be found anywhere else. 

As a rule, if you are involved in a particular sport at a certain level (players, coaches, officials, etc) you are not allowed to bet on it. The same applies to the staff at a bookmakers. The repercussions of getting caught would be quite severe, but if one of these people desperately needed to place a wager, they could use a beard. 

A local resident may not want to be seen placing a bet against their home team. They could use a beard who is an out-of-towner and wouldn’t be recognised. 

Most betting companies will have limits on their games and sportsbooks. If someone wanted to place a £30,000 wager, for example, but the betting limit was £15,000, they could employ a beard to place the other £15,000 for them. 

Many betting companies have a list of restricted countries where you aren’t allowed to bet online. If someone living in one of these countries wanted to place an online wager, they could hire a beard in an unrestricted country to place bets for them. 

A large betting syndicate may hire a beard to place their bets for them rather than everyone having to place their bets individually. 

When betting in a real-life casino, a player on a hot or cold streak may use a beard so as not to affect the other punters. If a person on a cold streak enters a game such as blackjack, it can cause other players to leave the table. 

In most of these cases, the use of a beard is not technically legal. The beard would need to be a very trustworthy person, as it would be easy for them to lay claim to your winnings. We don’t condone any of these methods, but they’re useful to know so that you can recognise them in future.