Online Spread Betting

In spread betting, the pay-off depends on the accuracy of the wager, rather than the outcome per se. The more right you are, the bigger profit you’ll make, and the more wrong your bet is, the more money you’ll lose. There are two key types of spread betting — financial spread betting and sports spread betting. In this guide, we’ll focus. Point Spread Betting Second only to moneyline bets, point spread bets are the next most popular type of sports bet that you can make. Whether you are an expert sharp who crushes the books or you’re a brand-new bettor, point spread bets are most likely going to be a big part of your winning betting strategy.

  • What Is Spread Betting? Spread betting is a fairly complex type of betting, one that involves placing a wager on the future price on the market. The spread betting company offers two prices, the bid.
  • Spread betting is a derivatives product, meaning you don’t physically own the instrument you wish to trade. When you spread bet, you trade on margin. Margined or leveraged trading enables you to take a position by depositing just a fraction of the full value of the instrument you wish to trade.
  • Point Spread betting is basically betting by how much a certain team will win or lose.The whole concept of point spreads is based on the principle of underdogs and favorites. The favorites (a team that is.

What is the difference between spread betting and forex trading?

Foreign exchange is a vital part of today’s interconnected global economy. Companies require foreign exchange for paying for goods in another currency and dealing with international employees. People require it whenever they are travelling abroad, paying for their child’s education or paying mortgage for real estate overseas. This guide is designed to help investors and individuals understand the basic differences between spread betting and forex.

Understanding Forex Trading

Traditional forex trading in simple terms is selling a particular currency and getting another currency in exchange, as per the existing exchange rate between those two currencies. For example, a trader will sell GBP£ 100 to get approximately US$ 140 at a rate of 1GBP=1.4USD. If the price of the held currency rises, in this case USD, the trader can make a profit by selling the USD. The difference between the buying and selling rate is the trader’s profit. There is no universal exchange, so most of the transactions are made over the counter, where individual buy and sell transactions are matched. Once a deal is finalised, known as a spot deal, there is an exchange of the currencies between the two parties.

Understanding Financial Spread Betting

Spread betting is different from the traditional forex trading in various ways. In spread betting, there is no actual exchange of the currency or purchase of the financial instrument that is being traded. Spread betting involves taking a position based on anticipating whether the price of a financial instrument will increase or decrease in the future. This form of betting means an investor will win or lose money based on the marginal variation of a particular outcome and the expected value spread quoted by the spread betting brokerage. Besides foreign exchange, spread betting can be conducted on a wide range of financial instruments, including interest rates, individual share prices, indices, price of commodities etc. Depending on how a trader expects the market to move, he/she can either put in a ‘Long Buy’ (anticipating a rise in price) or a ‘Short Sell’ (anticipating a fall in price). Spread betting is further illustrated by these examples:

Case 1: The trader expects the price of the financial product to rise. The trader assumes that the GBP to USD exchange rate will increase, assuming the exchange rate is 1GBP=1.14USD. The trader places a bet of £20 for every 0.1-point rise in the exchange rate. (long position). With this, there will be two possible outcomes:

  • If the exchange rate increases from $1.14 to 1.70 (a 0.56-point rise), then the trader’s profit will be 56 X 20, which is £1120.
  • If the exchange rate fell from $1.14 to 1.02 (a 0.12-point fall), then the trader’s loss would be 12 X 20, which is £240.

Case 2: The trader expects the price of the financial product to fall. The trader assumes that the GBP to USD exchange rate will decrease, assuming the exchange rate is 1GBP=1.14USD. The trader places a bet for £20 for every 0.1-point fall in the exchange rate. (short position). There will be two possible outcomes:

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  • If the exchange rate increases from $1.14 to 1.70 (a 0.56-point rise), then the trader’s loss would be 56 X 20, which is £1120.
  • If the exchange rate fell from $1.14 to 1.02 (a 0.12-point fall), then the trader’s profit would be 12 X 20, which is £240.

The profit or the loss with respect to spread betting depends on two things.

Online trading spread betting
  • The stake size, which is the amount an investor bets for every point increase.
  • The points drop or gain of the underlying financial product, which the investor has put his/her money in.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Both Investments?

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Investors should be aware of the pros and cons of both investments before making any financial decisions:

  • The biggest advantage of spread betting is that none of the profits are taxed. Forex trading is not tax-free, as you have to pay capital gains tax, as well as stamp duty.
  • In spread betting, you need to put in only a fraction of the money you trade. This is known as margin trading. This means traders can trade in high value since they have to put down only a fraction of this price as the initial stake, if the price moves in the way desired by the trader the profit can be much more that in forex trading. However, the inverse is also true. The loss can be significantly higher as opposed to forex trading, if the movement in price is opposite to what is desired by the traders. In traditional forex trading, the trader has to put down the entire amount of the trade, so the profit or loss is limited to the amount the trader has put down in the trade
  • Forex trading being a long established industry is regulated to a higher extent, as compared to spread betting. Traditional forex trading is provided by more established brokerages or financial institutions such as banks that provide accounts in multiple currencies. Because of this it is always best practice when choosing a spread betting provider to always consider going with a regulated brokerage.It is important to note that because spread betting involves high leverage the potential of losses from spread betting can be enlarged.

Best Forex And Spread Betting Providers

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Traders and individuals that want to trade forex, binary options and spread betting will benefit from working with a long established and trusted broker like ETX Capital. If you would like more information on ETX Capital, read our full review of ETX Capital here.

If you would like to see the best spread brokers available, read our comparison of spread betting brokers.

Other key firms dealing with binary options, spread betting and forex include ZuluTrade, AxiTrader and Spread Co.

Traders and individuals should keep in mind that their capital is at risk when they make any investments.

  • Where to Bet:

How to read Super Bowl 55 Odds

The Kansas City Chiefs wil meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 7, 2021.

The Chiefs opened as -3.5 betting favorites while the Buccaneers are 3.5 underdogs.

After early wagers came in, most operators are holding Kansas City -3 (-120).

If you were to wager on Kansas City -3, you would have to lay 5/6 odds (Bet $120 to win $100) instead of your normal 10/11 juice (Bet $110 to win $100).

The return on Tampa Bay would be even-money (1/1) and a $100 wager would return $100.

The total or over-under on Super Bowl 55 is hovering between 56 and 57 points.

How to read NFL Las Vegas Odds

The point-spread was developed to provide a balance for both teams involved in a contest to entice bettors to potentially back the weaker team and receive points. The two squads in a game are listed with a title, either a favorite or an underdog. The favorite is usually the perceived better team in the game, as backing them means giving up several points.

The favorite is always listed with a minus (-) sign before the point-spread while the underdog is labeled with a plus (+) label.

Ex. Favorite -10, Underdog +10

On the VegasInsider.com odds page, there is another number associated with the favorite and its listed as -10. This number is simply defined as “vig” or what many in the sports betting industry call vigorish. Another common term is called “juice” and it’s technically the price the bettor has to pay on a straight wager.

Ex. Bet $110 to win $100 (10% juice)
Ex. Bet $100 to win $90.91 (10% juice)

It's not uncommon to see other values posted other than -10. Examples seen on the NFL Vegas Odds pages could include -08, -12, -15 and -20. The -10 price is the most common value in the industry while many books offer reduced 'juice odds' and that would fall into the -08 category.

The lower-juice sportsbooks are normally found outside of the state Nevada. If you are in a state where sports betting is legal, please check out our online sportsbook directory to find the best and most secure places to make NFL bets.

Another number that’s posted on the NFL Las Vegas is the total or ‘over/under’ for the specific matchup. If the favorite is designated as the home team, then the total will be listed above and vice versa if the visitors are favorites.

All of the above numbers are listed next to the teams, and before each matchup is a Rotation number. The NFL Las Vegas Odds are listed in order of rotation and those numbers are generated and produced by the sportsbooks. Above each matchup and rotation is the Time of the game, which is subject to change. All game times are Eastern Standard Time.

NFL Open Line

One of the best features on the NFL Vegas Odds is the Open Line. This numbers consists of the first betting line received from one of our Las Vegas or Global Sportsbooks. The opening line varies depending on the sportsbook but it provides a clear-cut rating that the oddsmakers use. If you’re betting on the NFL or any other sport, it’s a great idea to view the open line first.

VI Consensus NFL Line

The VegasInsider.com Consensus NFL Line is just as important as the Open Line and also a key resource on odds platform. The Consensus column could be called a “Median Line” since it shows the most consistent number provided by the sportsbooks on VegasInsider.com. The consensus line will be the same as the open line but once the wagers start coming in, this number is often different than the openers.

Point Spread Betting Example

How do I bet on the Super Bowl?

Online Spread Betting

We know that you can bet on the Super Bowl and all of NFL Futures or bet on the NFL Draft at any time of the year, but what’s the process? The future wager or the “Odds to Win” bet on the Super Bowl is correctly selecting a team to win an event that takes place at a later time. A bettor will have his wagered money tied up until there is an outcome and bettors will receive fixed odds when they place the wager. In the case of the Super Bowl, you’re not a winner or loser until you see zeros on the clock in the final game.

Most sportsbooks offer different ways to read to Super Bowl Odds. In the fractional NFL Futures Odds format below, you simply take the odds and multiply by the amount wagered.

Online Trading Spread Betting

Ex. Green Bay (8/1) to win the Super Bowl

Online Spread Betting Against

The Packers are listed as an 8/1 betting choice to win the Super Bowl. If you wager $100 on Green Bay to win the NFC and they capture the championship, then you would win $800 (8 ÷ 1 x 100). Your online betting account would then credit your account $900, which includes your win and stake ($100).

The American Format would see Green Bay listed at +800 and for the Decimal Format, the Packers would be 9.00.

Spread Betting Football

If you are in a state where online betting is legal, we encourage you to check out our sportsbook directory to find the most trustworthy and reputable sites and mobile apps to place your Super Bowl bets.