Spread Betting Guide

Spread betting  made its name in the financial markets and since the 1980’s has grown and grown in popularity in the field of sports betting.  It is quite a simple concept, however, it takes most people a little while to get their head around.

The principle is exactly the same whether applied to financial markets or to sports betting, but we will discuss it purely in the context of sports betting.  Spread betting companies such as Sporting Index will quote a spread on a particular outcome happening in a sporting event.  The gambler can then use their judgement to guess whether the price will rise or fall.

To put this into context we will look at the example of shots on target between say Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.  The spread betting company will give a quote for the number of shots on target there will be throughout the whole game, in this example it is 8-9. The spread of 8-9 means that the bookies’ thinks it is most likely that there will be 8-9 shots on target in the game.  You then choose whether there will be more or less shots on target than this spread and you place your bet accordingly.

If you choose to buy, you are saying that you think it will be an action packed game and there will be more than 9 shots on target.  Say you bought at £10 per point and there were 15 shots on target you would get back £60 (15-9 x £10).  If you think you will be able to catch a few winks during the game and that there will be less than 8 shots on target then you receive £10 for every shot there was in the game less than 8.  If there were 4 shots on target you would receive £40 (8-4 x £10).

The spread is how the bookies make their money.  They feel that the spread is the most likely outcome of the event and if this occurs then the bookie is the only winner.

If you have any questions about spread betting please email info@comparebookies.com and we will be glad to help.