What is Sports Spread Betting? Spread Betting Explained
Whether you’re betting on your favourite hockey teams, a darts match or a college football game week, spread betting is a popular form of sports betting that is a response to betting action. These types of bets are a favourite amongst professional bettors and infrequent punters alike, as it changes the levels of risk associated with placing bets and offers more value by evening the playing field.
Discover more about the betting outcomes associated with spread betting in different sports and find out how to make the most of your spread betting experience at Stake.com.
What is Sports Spread Betting?
Spread betting in sports is a way of placing a wager in response to live betting action, as opposed to placing a wager with fixed odds, as is the norm at most online sportsbooks. The payout on sports spread bets are based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than the outcome. For example, bettors may place a wager on the margin of victory Find out how to place this popular type of bet!
How to Place a Spread Bet on Sports
To place a spread bet on sports, create an account at Stake.com and add cryptocurrency or your country's local currency. You can then make your selections and place your bets accordingly. In spread betting, you can use the following formula to help you:
Settled Price – Buy Price x Stake = Profit/Loss
But before placing spread bets, you need to understand how they work and what they look like in different sports. Let’s look at some examples so you know how spread betting works:
Soccer spread betting
A popular soccer spread betting option is total goals, which could be priced at 2.5 - 3.0. Assuming you place a buy bet, the maximum loss you can occur is 3x your wager. This is because the worst-case scenario in a soccer match (or football match) is a 0-0 draw. Therefore, using the above formula, if you place a 10.00 buy wager on total goals and the match ends goalless, you would lose 30.00.
But what if one of the teams won 5-1, resulting in six goals scored? The spread bet would be settled at six, returning a 30.00 profit.
Cricket spread betting
Spread betting on cricket matches is also popular. Let’s take the example of an ICC match between England and Pakistan; the number of sixes scored in a day is priced at 4-5. We know that the maximum loss is five times our stake, as the lowest price that can be settled is zero sixes. Therefore, if you had placed a 10.00 bet, the most you could lose would be 50.00.
However, if England have a brilliant day and hit ten sixes, you would land a profit of 50.00.
Formula 1 spread betting
F1 spread betting is when you predict outcomes in a race and place bets based on those predictions. Let's take an example of where you bet on the number of laps completed. Let's say the spread is 45-50 laps. Decide if you think the final outcome will be higher or lower than the spread. If you believe there will be more than 50 laps completed, you "buy" the spread. If you think there will be fewer than 45 laps completed, you "sell" the spread.
Your profit or loss depends on the difference between your chosen level (buy or sell) and the actual outcome of the race, multiplied by your bet amount.
Horse racing spread betting
Another sport where spread betting is popular is horse racing. You can, for example, place a spread bet on the aggregate total of the winning margins of each race. As some distances are less than a length, you need to be aware of the following:
Nose: 0.05
Short head: 0.10
Head: 0.20
Short neck: 0.25
Neck: 0.30
Half a length: 0.50
Three-quarters of a length: 0.75
Another popular spread betting option for horse racing is the number of favourites to win their races over the course of action on a specific race day.
If you back an outcome at fixed odds and it occurs, you will earn the respective payout. However, if the outcome doesn’t happen, you lose your stake.
Spread betting is different, as how much you win and lose is dependent on the accuracy of your wager. What’s more, there are more than just one or two outcomes in a spread bet, and the more accurate you are with your predictions, the more you stand to win from your wager.
Spread betting gives you more options when putting together your betting slip than a mere win-or-lose scenario.
You can increase the amount you win by spread betting when compared to the fixed betting odds offered.
Spread betting can increase enjoyment levels by making your bets last longer. For instance, a horse racing spread bet could involve every race in a tournament instead of just one race.
Risks of Spread Betting
Depending on your predictions, spread bettors can lose more than the initial stake.
For beginners, spread betting is relatively complex, particularly compared to fixed odds sports betting.
Spread Betting Strategies, Tips & Tricks to Win
If you’re keen to get started with spread betting at Stake.com, here are some tips that will help you make your selections:
It’s always a good idea to start small as far as spread betting is concerned. You need to be mindful that you can lose more than your initial stake when spread betting.
You should always bet on spread markets you understand, so bet on sports you’re comfortable with. If you’re not sure on how the sport or the bet in question works, it’s best not to place it!
Be sure to keep up to date with the latest predictions, as well as consider factors such as weather conditions, injuries, home-field advantage, and team statistics. These can all impact the final outcome.
Discover the upcoming sporting events that you can place spread bets on at the Stake Sportsbook.
Refer to our online sports betting guide for more tips and tricks to help you make winning selections when spread betting.
There are no shortage of unique bet types on Stake Sportsbook. If you're looking for new betting options, read our guides to teaser betting and round robin betting.
Live Spread Betting
Via your Stake.com account, several live spread betting markets are available on your chosen sports. Refer to our guide that explains the differences between pre-match and live sports betting for more information.
How to Deposit & Withdraw Funds to Bet on Sports
Easily deposit funds into your account to place sports bets by following the steps listed below:
Step 1 - Retrieve your deposit address, located in Wallet > Deposit.
Step 2 - Choose the method that suits your needs. Stake.com supports multiple currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (Doge), Litecoin (LTC), and others.
Step 3 - Use your deposit address as the ‘send to’ location for your crypto wallet or exchange.
Step 4 (Optional) - If you wish to make a deposit via fiat currency, you add your local currency via the available payment methods, or you can buy crypto for Stake via Moonpay.
Stake.com offers live support to players via our customer support staff for help with issues regarding sports betting and depositing and withdrawing units.
Moonpay supports multiple payment options, including Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and others, to buy cryptocurrency to place sports bets. For a full list of supported payment methods, please refer to the Moonpay documentation.
Sports Betting Rules, Regulations & Security
Before placing any sports bets at Stake.com, please familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions of our online sportsbook. If you encounter any issues or have any questions, please contact customer support for more information.
