See Also: Spread Betting - General(gambling)
Betting Ratio / Betting Spread - Blackjack(gambling)
spread betting(dictionary)
"Course" Betting - General(gambling)
Set Betting - General(gambling)
Man-to-Man Betting - General(gambling)
Betting Board - General(gambling)
Line Betting - General(gambling)
Betting Line - General(gambling)
Betting Cards - General(gambling)

Spread Betting - General (gambling)


A form of betting derived from financial markets where the punter bets on a ' spread' of numbers relating to the particular event - for example, runs scored in cricket, points in Rugby Union, or the number of lengths between named horses at the end of the race. The bookmaker quotes the spread: say, regarding the number of points to be scored by one side in a Rugby game, 28-30. If you think the side will score more than 30, you ' buy' at 30; if fewer, you ' sell' at 28, and stipulate your stake per point. If you buy the spread at ? and the team scores only 25, you lose ? - 30 minus 25 leaves 5, which multiplied by your stake is ?; if that team scores 35, you win ?. The attraction of spread betting is that the more right you are, the more you will win - and by the same token the more wrong you are, the more you will lose. Note: you cannot have a spread bet unless you have an account with the bookmaker concerned, since you cannot stake the bet in advance as you do not know how much you might lose.