[Poisec]

https://www.sportingindex.com I must confess I never head about spread betting before recently. This type of betting is totally different to usual sports betting.
Is it popular anywhere? Surely in UK?

[semibluff]

https://www.sportingindex.com I must confess I never head about spread betting before recently. This type of betting is totally different to usual sports betting.
Is it popular anywhere? Surely in UK?

Wally Pyrah was a big champion of spread betting going back to the Bears vs Patriots Super Bowl days in 1985. He left Corals soon after to be part of Sporting Index at its inception. It's a good form of betting for some but it's not suitable for most gamblers because they won't understand the magnitude of the risks involved. If you spread/index bet, (because many of the markets, including sports markets, are indexed), you always have to consider the worst possible outcome before you bet. Alternatively you should have an agreed maximum win/lose position agreed with the book. I say 'book' loosely because I seem to remember spread/index betting coming under stock market and financial institution regulations rather than gambling legislation.

It's been a very long time since i've spread bet.

[Optional]

Agree 100% with semibluff.

New users can lose a lot more than they expect quickly.

Also, UK ones are not regulated as gambling operations as bettors might expect. I think they fall under FCA authority.


A new one in Australia called betodds.com is being pushed hard in advertising right now.

[jjgold]

Been around forever, long time pioneer and inventor of it and booming business like Spreadex

Safer than The US MINT, STRICT REGS

Spreadex is the other one in the UK

[Poisec]

Yep, I saw my broker providing another one (Zedee), my question was: is there actual people here betting on this kind of markets? Would be interesting to hear some experience.

[Optional]

Been around forever, long time pioneer and inventor of it and booming business like Spreadex

Safer than The US MINT, STRICT REGS

Spreadex is the other one in the UK

We have about 6 unresolved complaints about the UK based SportsSpread.com.

They have been ripping people off with impunity for a few years.

[Daddy89]

This is a good info for new gamblers like me

[Ruifgalmeida]

I have tried hard to understand spread betting but still don't understand

[semibluff]

I have tried hard to understand spread betting but still don't understand

Using Sunday's Patriots @ Steelers game as an example. If you bet on the handicap with a standard book you would be betting around a fixed position, with a fixed stake, and a fixed price. Let's say it's Patriots -2½ for $110 at -110. If the Patriots win by more than 2½ your return is $210 and if they don't your return is $0. That is not the case with Spread/Index betting. In this type of market the more you win by the more you win and the more you lose by the more you lose. Let's suppose you bet the Patriots. You have to 'buy' at the high point of 2½ and you decide your bet is $10 per point. If the Patriots win by 3 then you win (3 - 2½) X $10. If they win by 10 you win (10 - 2½) X $10. If you get some freak blowout loss where they lose by 50-3 then you lose (47 + 2½) X $10. If you can't afford to lose $500 then don't bet $10 per unit. If you were betting the Steelers you would 'sell' the Patriots at -½, (buy high, sell low), IE Steelers +½. You should always consider the worst case scenario before you make this sort of bet.

[Poisec]

Using Sunday's Patriots @ Steelers game as an example. If you bet on the handicap with a standard book you would be betting around a fixed position, with a fixed stake, and a fixed price. Let's say it's Patriots -2½ for $110 at -110. If the Patriots win by more than 2½ your return is $210 and if they don't your return is $0. That is not the case with Spread/Index betting. In this type of market the more you win by the more you win and the more you lose by the more you lose. Let's suppose you bet the Patriots. You have to 'buy' at the high point of 2½ and you decide your bet is $10 per point. If the Patriots win by 3 then you win (3 - 2½) X $10. If they win by 10 you win (10 - 2½) X $10. If you get some freak blowout loss where they lose by 50-3 then you lose (47 + 2½) X $10. If you can't afford to lose $500 then don't bet $10 per unit. If you were betting the Steelers you would 'sell' the Patriots at -½, (buy high, sell low), IE Steelers +½. You should always consider the worst case scenario before you make this sort of bet.

Surely the house should set a limit for both losses or winnings? I mean remember the tennis match at Wimbledon that ended 70-68 in the 5th set?

[semibluff]

Surely the house should set a limit for both losses or winnings? I mean remember the tennis match at Wimbledon that ended 70-68 in the 5th set?

Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes you can stipulate or agree a maximum position. A lot of times you're taking a position on an index so you can calculate odds and best/worst case scenarios. For example the Chargers @ Chiefs game tonight doesn't have odds per se. However the index is 100 points for a win and 0 for a loss. The Chiefs are 60-66 meaning a Chiefs win, (or a Chargers loss), is 34/66 and a Chiefs loss, (Chargers win), is 60/40. It's the equivalent of a -194.1, +150 line. That's more juice than most gamblers are used to seeing. High juice tends to be a feature of this style of betting.

[ichiro4thehall]

In the UK there is a much bigger crossover between financial spread betting and sports spread betting than normal sports betting and sports spread betting. The big 3 or 4 firms are huge. The average customer will probably work in the financial sector in London and have an account with one of the big firms where he can place spread bets on the NASDAQ or FTSE 100 during the day then go home and place some socccer spread bets for some action while watching a game after work.

[HeeeHAWWWW]

They limit eventually, just like all European books.