Bookmakers

BETTING EXCHANGE

In many respects it changed little until the widespread use of the internet which has lead to an explosion in online gaming.

We have broken down this section into three main components:

• Fixed Odds
• Betting Exchanges
• Spread Betting

Fixed odds

Bookmakers, or bookies as they are often known, are standard on the high street throughout the UK.

The large chains such as Ladbrokes, William Hill, Corals etc. have offices in most major cities and in many smaller towns too.

They give the punter the opportunity to bet on a seemingly unlimited amount of events including horse racing, football, golf, cricket, motor racing and more.

Increasingly they are taking bets on a wide range of novelty events such as Big Brother, other TV shows, the chance of seeing the Loch Ness monster etc.

They give you a fixed price on any given outcome. You make the bet with them and they pay you if you win.

All of the major high street players now offer online gambling allowing you to make a bet on the internet using your credit or debit card without having to leave your home.

In addition many other bookmakers who you would not ordinarily be able to deal with because they may not be represented in your area also have websites allowing you to bet with them.

The beauty of betting online is that you can quickly and easily compare odds across a wide range of bookies and find the best one for you.

You can hold accounts with them all, take advantage of their special offers including matched bets and free bets, and all of this without leaving your sofa! Punters have never had it so good.

Betting Exchanges

Offering a similarly wide range of events to bet on, Exchanges do not actually take your money. They simply facilitate the placing of bets with other gamblers and take a small percentage from the winnings.

The advantages of this are often longer prices than traditional bookmakers (although you should always shop around), and the ability for you to act as a bookmaker - in other words to bet on a selection LOSING.

The best known and biggest of the betting exchanges is betfair.com.

They offer odds which are on average 20% better than conventional high street bookmakers.

Spread Betting

Rather than offering a fixed price on an event, the bookmaker offers a "spread". For instance in a football match they might set their total goals market at 2.5 - 3.5.

If you think there will be 2 goals or less in the match you would "sell" the market and if you think there will be 4 goals or more you would "buy" the market.

If you get the result right you receive a multiple of your unit stake, but if you're wrong you lose a multiple of your stake - making this a very volatile way of betting, but very rewarding when you win.