Spread betting has offered an alternative to fixed-odds sports betting for decades and remains popular among punters hoping to win big through the accuracy of their wagers, according to an explainer from Independent Sport.
Unlike traditional fixed-odds betting, spread betting involves betting on a range of outcomes rather than a fixed result. The punter buys or sells the spread set by the bookmaker, staking an amount per point movement. For example, a football match might have a total goals spread of 2.9 to 3.1, with a buy above 3.1 or a sell below 2.9.
There are two types of spread betting: financial spread betting, applied to securities such as stocks, commodities and currencies, and sports spread betting. In financial spread betting, the company provides a bid and ask price which marks the spread, and the punter bets on whether the value will rise above the ask or fall below the bid.
The explainer notes that the risk in spread betting is that you can only decide the amount you wager and whether to sell or buy, so you run the risk of losing a lot more than you wager. It advises that risk management strategies are important, starting with working out the worst-case scenario.