The Thrill of Spread Betting

How to Partake in Spread Betting on Sporting Events
By: Mystery Bettor

This article outlines the expectation of, and getting started with, spread betting. Spread betting is a form of gambling that enables you to win or lose money based on how close or far off you are in your betting. Whether you play online or in a casino, spread betting can be an exciting way to make money or to lose it, depending on how well you understand the betting process.

One fascinating aspect to spread betting is that you can choose whether you want to explore the financial world of spread betting or whether you would rather bet on one of many popular sports. Spread betting enables you to gamble on the outcome of just about any sport, from football to horse racing. Many risk takers derive their excitement from the tricky endeavor of financial betting, in which they can place bets on the ever-changing stock market.

Like other traditional forms of gambling, spread betting has its own historical background. People have been holding contests and placing bets for hundreds of years, from betting on the chariot races in early Rome to placing money on football games today. Many people live for the thrill of betting, for placing their money and potentially risking their funds on an uncertain endeavor.

Spread betting derived its roots from the basic qualities of gambling: placing money on an outcome and winning or losing depending on that outcome. The most addictive part of spread betting is the uncertainty of winning or losing. In spread betting you may potentially win no matter what the final score. The actual numerical outcome of the game, race, or market has no real measure on whether you win or lose. As long as you bet correctly in the higher or lower margin of the outcome, within the proper spread, you will win or lose money.

In order to have a chance at being successful at spread betting, it is important for each player to understand the terms of the game. There are a number of interesting terms that players should familiarize themselves with before attempting to play the game. Although the concept of spread betting is rather simple, if a player is not somewhat familiar with the common terms of spread betting, he may run the risk of placing an unsuccessful bet. Or, he may not understand completely what is happening during the betting process. Therefore, it is important to educate yourself on the common terms of spread betting.

The key to spread betting successfully is the same as playing most any other gambling game. In order to place a bet that has a reasonable chance of winning, you have to employ your knowledge about the game and be smart about your betting. One of the key components of any type of successful gambling is maintaining self-discipline. Establishing a successful method to spread betting, and consistently following it with each wager, maintains a high level of winning performance.

For example, with research on the event to be wagered being a critical part of the method, the bettor should never bypass this aspect and make an uneducated, or on a hunch, wager. One element of the research is knowing how the professionals view the event. In sports wagering, knowing the position of professional sports handicappers will improve the bettor’s success.

Spread betting has the advantage of being able to be played just about anywhere you have access to the outside world. Other popular casino games like poker and roulette have moved to the online world, and so has spread betting. You can choose to place your bets in the sparkling, risqué climate of Las Vegas. Or, you can place your bets from the comfort of your own home by visiting an online firm or casino. Since spread betting has continued to grow in popularity, there has been a significant increase in the number of firms that have opened to accommodate both seasoned pros and newcomers to the world of spread betting.

With spread betting on the rise, there has also been an influx of new players to this particular form of gambling. Fortunately, there are several ways in which a player can train himself on the varying components of spread betting. Like any other form of gambling, the most successful bets are usually—though not always—placed by a player who has taken the time to educate himself about what he is betting on and the rules of the betting process.

Although the concept of spread betting is simple, there are several terms unique to the game that may throw beginning spread bettors off course. Also, what you plan to bet on may determine how successful you are, especially if you do not educate yourself about how to play the game. There are also plenty of sources of information online. However, if you are a beginner, you must weed through the available sites carefully. Spread Betting International and Sports Betting Times are two sites that offer training on spread/sport betting, and strive to minimize this pain with concise, complete, and valuable information.

Spread betting, like any form of gambling, has the potential to be addictive. The key to having fun while spread betting is to get educated about what you are doing. Be aware that spread betting holds the potential for addiction, and most of all, be careful with your funds. Maintain common sense when spread betting, and the activity will continue to hold fun, excitement, and the thrill of the unknown.

Spread Betting >The Bookmaker

From: The Muscle

A bookmaker, bookie or turf accountan is an organization, or a person, that takes spread bets and pays winnings depending upon results and, depending on the nature of the bet, the odds.

Range of events
Most bookmakers in the United States offer spread betting merely on college and professional sports. However, in the United Kingdom they offer a wider range of wagering, including each-way spead betting on golf, football and tennis, and especially horse racing and greyhound events.

They also specialize in novelty events such as betting the probability that it will snow on Christmas Day, the outcome of political elections and reality television contests such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Big Brother and The X Factor, or that aliens will be found on Mars.

Operational procedures
By adjusting the odds in his favor or by having a point spread, the bookmaker will aim to guarantee a profit by achieving a 'balanced book', either by getting an equal number of bets for each outcome, or (when he is offering odds) by getting the amounts wagered on each outcome to reflect the odds. When a large bet comes in, a bookmaker can also try to lay off the risk by buying bets from other bookmakers.

The bookmaker does not generally attempt to make money from the bets themselves, but rather profiting from the event regardless of the outcome. Their working methods are similar to that of an actuary, who does a similar balancing of financial outcomes of events for the assurance and insurance industries.

Legality

Bookmaking may be legal or illegal, and may be regulated; in the United Kingdom it was at times both regulated and illegal, in that licences were required but no debts arising from gambling could be enforced through the courts. Now, since the inception of the National Lottery, not only is it completely legal in the UK, it is a small contributor to the British economy, with a recent explosion of interest with regard to the international gaming sector industry. However, gambling debts still remain unenforceable under English law.

Bookmaking is generally illegal in the United States, with Nevada being a notable exception. In some countries, such as Singapore, Sweden, Canada and Hong Kong, the only legal bookmaker is state-owned and operated. In Canada, this is part of the lottery program and is known as Sport Select.In the United Kingdom, trusted legal bookmakers are members of IBAS, which is an industry standard organization which resolves to settle disputes.