Spread Betting on Sports

Spread betting has historically been reserved for "The City" with traders using the derivative tool to hedge against price movements in share, bond and various other asset prices and also due to its tax free status. Over the last few years we've seen spread betting become more and more popular in sports with punters looking for fresh, more exciting ways to bet on sports.

Spread betting is a much different type of gambling to what the traditional bookmaker will offer. Rather than being paid for correctly guessing the correct result, or choosing a winning team, the return from a spread bet is calculated by the accuracy of the wager.

A spread betting company will quote two prices - the 'buy' and the 'sell' price and the difference between the two is what is referred to as the 'spread'. If you want to bet below the spread you will go in at the 'sell' price and if you want to go above the spread the 'buy' price will apply to you.

Sporting Index uses a great example on its website to explain the concept very simply:
"For example, if someone asked you to guess their age, you might say: 'somewhere between 35 and 40'. In the same way, when we make a prediction, we allow a range. If you were placing a spread bet on this prediction you would bet low at 35 years or bet high at 40 years."

Let's use another example to describe how spread betting works in the corners market during a made up football match between Manchester United and Chelsea. Just say the spread on the corners market was between 8-10. If you thought there would be fewer corners than this, you could 'sell' at say £5 per point. If there ended up being 12 corners, this would mean you will have incurred a loss of £10 because the outcome was 2 points above the spread. If on the flip side there were only three corners, you will have profited by £25 as the outcome was 5 points below the spread.

As with anything in life, the best way to learn spread betting is to get involved yourself. If you want to try it out, we would advise you to sign up for a free bet which will allow you to have a go with much less risk.
If you have any questions about spread betting or would like to recommend an addition to the site then please feel free to get in touch at: spreadbettingcompanies.co.uk. Happy betting!