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Placement

Restricted industries, and who funds them anyway

Quick answer

Most funders restrict some combination of cannabis, firearms, adult, gambling, crypto, debt relief, most law firms, non-profits, real estate investment and auto sales, though almost every category has at least one funder who writes it at a price. The practical rule is to establish the industry in the first two minutes of the call, because it is the fastest disqualifier there is and the most expensive one to discover late.

Alex MakowskiFounder, Infinite BookingsUpdated 2026-08-302 min read

Industry restrictions are about collectability and about the funder’s own banking relationships rather than about morality. Understanding the reason tells you which restrictions are absolute and which are a pricing question.

CategoryWhy restrictedAny market?
Cannabis and CBDFederal banking exposureSpecialist funders only
FirearmsProcessor and bank policyLimited
Gambling and gamingRegulatory and chargeback riskRare
AdultProcessor policyRare
CryptoVolatility and bankingRare
Debt relief and credit repairRegulatory scrutinyLimited
Law firmsReceivables are not receiptsSome, at a price
Real estate investmentLumpy, project-based revenueSome
Auto salesFloor-plan financing conflictsSome
Non-profitsNo owner to guaranteeRare

The revenue-shape problem

Several of these are restricted less for what the business does than for how the money arrives. An advance repays as a share of daily receipts, so a business with three large payments a quarter is structurally awkward regardless of how profitable it is. Law firms, real estate investors and project-based contractors all fail on shape rather than on category.

When a merchant is in a hard category

  • Say so immediately and say why. It is a funding-market fact, not a judgement about them.
  • Check whether the business is actually in the category — a shop selling hunting supplies is not necessarily a firearms dealer, and the distinction sometimes matters to the funder.
  • If you have a specialist funder, place it there and expect worse pricing.
  • If you do not, refer it out rather than sit on it. A referral that funds is worth more than a file that ages.

Questions brokers ask

Most commonly cannabis, firearms, adult, gambling, crypto, debt relief, many law firms, non-profits, real estate investment and auto sales — though nearly every category has at least one specialist funder writing it at a price.

Because of how the money arrives rather than what the firm does. An advance repays from daily receipts, and a practice billing in large irregular settlements does not produce the steady receipt flow the product is built around.

In the first two minutes. It is the fastest disqualifier there is, and finding it on day four after they have sent statements costs you the work and costs the merchant their goodwill.

Often yes, through specialist funders and at worse pricing — shorter terms, higher factors and smaller advances. Whether that is worth taking is the merchant’s call, made with the numbers in front of them.

Not necessarily, and the distinction can decide the file. Establish what the business actually sells and what its processor classifies it as before assuming the category applies.

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