Spread School
What Is Spread Betting?
SportsSpread makes a prediction on various sports and events which you, the client, can then decide whether our prediction is either too high or too low. Your winnings (or losses) will depend on the stake you choose as well as how right or wrong you are compared to SportsSpread’s prediction.
A ‘spread’ is a term that implies a prediction of what will happen in a particular market within a game – known as a SELL-BUY range. For instance, the ‘spread’ in a football game for the total number of goals scored could look like 2.8 – 3.0.
Therefore, if you think the market/outcome would be higher than the SELL-BUY range, you BUY. However, if you predict it will be lower, you SELL. Essentially, the more correct you are in sports spread betting, the more you could win in multiples of your stake. On the flip side, if you are wrong, you stand to lose multiples times your stake.
The ‘stake’ is the amount you choose to bet, per point movement. For example, if you place a £20 bet on the total goals in a game, you could win or lose £20 per goal. This is why it’s essential to pick your stake carefully for each market of spread betting.
As with any betting, the highest risk is having a lack of understanding and experience. The first thing to know is the difference between spread betting and fixed-odds betting. Without this knowledge, you can end up losing more than your preliminary stake.
Below are a few key points to remember:
In spread betting, some markets can be more volatile than others, so it’s beneficial to get to know the different markets before you start. What this means is that a final outcome could be huge in one market or very small in another. For instance, in football, the ‘Total Goals Minutes’ market (the aggregate total of the time of all goals scored in a match) is incredibly volatile, as opposed to the ‘Total Goals’ market (the total number of goals scored in 90 minutes).
It’s always good to manage your expectations and understand all possible outcomes. For example, if the spread of the ‘Total Goals’ market in a football game was 2.8 - 3 and you bought at 3, then your worst case scenario would be a 0-0 draw where you would lose 3 times your stake.
Once you have followed the steps above, you should determine the amount you are willing to stake in a particular market and the amount you are willing to risk. For instance, in football, a £30 BUY for a ‘Total Goals’ market of 2.8 - 3 spread, could potentially cost you £90 ((0 - 3) x £30). However, when it comes to ‘Total Goals Minutes’, you’d need to lower your stake significantly since it is much more volatile and the spread can be high, such as 155 - 165, potentially costing you £4,950 ((0-165) x £30).
Below we’ll give you a real-life example of what sports spread betting really is. For this, we’re going to look at one of our most popular sports which is football. More specifically, we’re going to focus on the ‘1st Match Goal (Mins)’ market in the Manchester City vs Arsenal game.
From this image, we can see that SportsSpread are predicting that the first goal will be scored between the 36th minute and the 39th minute.
Now we know all too well that anything can happen in the beautiful game, so you may have a gut feeling that Manchester City are going to be firing on all cylinders and will score within the first 5 minutes. To place your bet, you would choose to SELL the spread because you believe it will take less than 36 minutes for there to be a goal.
Let’s say your hunch is correct & the first goal comes in the 3rd minute. It will work out something like this. This example is based on a stake of £10
(Spread - Minute of 1st Goal) x Stake
(36 - 3) x £10
33 x £10 = £330 PROFIT
Now as great as that winning feeling is, you shouldn’t forget that there is a risk involved and you could of course lose your bet. This is how it could look if your hunch isn’t right and the first goal of the match was scored in the 50th minute. This example is based on a stake of £10
(Spread – Minute of 1st Goal) x Stake
(50 - 36) x £10
50 - 36 = 14
14 x £10 = £140 LOSS
So this example shows the other side of how a spread bet can result in a loss. In this example, you have chosen to sell the spread because you believe the first goal will come before the 36th minute. Unfortunately, if there isn’t a goal scored inside that predicted time, you will lose your stake for every minute that there isn’t a goal after the 36th minute (£10 stake = £10 loss for every minute that passes before the first goal after the spread).
In the UK, sports spread betting is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is the same administration that oversees the financial spread betting regulations. The reason for this is that there are considerable similarities in both financial and sports spread betting in terms of the risks highlighted above.
Many people go into sports spread betting with the same mindset as they would with financial spread betting. Due to the high risk (highlighted above), it is crucial to manage your money well to keep the risks in check.
Utilising tools such as stop loss orders can help limit your risk by closing out your spread bet automatically if you reach a particular number of points in the bet.
Bet Now
