A bet is made against a 'spread' (or index), on whether the outcome will be above or below the spread. The amount won or lost depends on the level of the index at the end of the event. The spread represents the index firms' margin.Also, it is a tax free, cost effective alternative to traditional share trading. It allows you to speculate on the movement of stocks without using an expensive stockbroker. The whole concept of financial betting is very closely tied to that of sports betting. In fact they both work in exactly the same fashion. The sports better is given a two-way price and he then buys or sells the spread (with an associated Pound(s) per point) depending on his view of the event.

For example:

• England are playing in the World Cup and their total goals spread for the whole Tournament is 12-13 (ie the total goals scored by the team in all their matches)
  
• If you think that England have a very good chance of making it to the Finals or at least advancing to the later stages, or perhaps you think that their strikers are very much in form then you may elect to buy the bet at 13 risking £10 a point
  
• Let's assume that England make it to the Semi-Finals before being knocked out scoring a total of 20 goals (in all matches)
  
• The spread bet would therefore pay 7 points or a profit of £70, (20 - 13 = 7 x £10 = £70 )

Of course if you didn't fancy England's chances then you could always sell short this bet. And as ever with this kind of gambling the market is constantly quoted and adjusted even during England's matches. You can therefore add to the bet or cover the bet at any time. If you don't know what Short Selling is then click here for a simple guide. This is a simple sports bet on football but you can be assured that the big sports betting companies such as IG Sports or Sporting Index will offer many many bets on almost any conceivable outcome. Some of these such as the above example or total goals in a single match are very easy to understand but other bets can be complex so make sure you only bet on what you understand and also try and bet small amounts if you're new to betting sports in this fashion.

Some Critical Advice

Sports spread betting is not hard to understand but if you're new to the game it does take some time for all the facets to sink in. The best advice we can give is to start betting with very small stakes to begin. In fact this is so important we're going to say it again;

• If you're new to sports spread betting start off betting in very small stakes

You see it takes time and experience to fully comprehend what's going on, how the prices move, advantages and disadvantages etc. Many punters who've jumped straight in at the deep end risking large amounts of money have paid the price with nasty losses . So learn the ropes to begin with by only betting small amounts of money.