Bet Size (Stake)

Governs how much you make or lose on a spread bet for every point of movement in the price of the market. This is also known as stake size. 

Buy (also see 'Up Bet')

You ‘buy’ a market if you think it will go up in price. You can also ‘buy’ to close out an existing ‘sell’ bet. When you buy, you buy at the ‘ask’ price, which is the higher price of the spread quoted. In Sports, you buy if you think the result will be higher than our quote (say more points in a rugby match) and you buy at the higher of the two prices quoted (e.g. 46 - 49, you buy at 49).

Closing

The process of ending (or trading out of) an existing bet. Closing a bet results in a profit or loss being realised. A financial bet can be closed automatically when it hits a limit order or stop loss limit, or closed manually by entering an opposing bet in the market to the open position, or on the expiration of the contract such as a future. In sports a bet can be closed in a similar way by making an opposing bet, or the bet is closed when the outcome of the event has been decided and the market is settled by our traders.  

Deposit

The funds required as an initial outlay for a bet. It is not the total amount that can be lost on the bet. 

Down Bet (also see 'Sell')

A spread bet placed in anticipation that a sports market will finish lower than our quote. For example, if you think a cricketer will score less runs than the 46-50 runs we quote you would place a down bet at 46.  

In-Play/In-Running Betting

Placing a bet on a sporting event after it has started. Our sports traders price up many sports markets ‘In-Play’ or ‘In-Running’ allowing you to close a bet during a game or open a new one depending on your current view of proceedings.

Make-Up

The final result of a spread bet in a sports market and the basis on which we settle sports bets. If the final score in a rugby match was 42-10, the make-up for Total Points would be 52 (42+10) and the Supremacy would make-up at 32 (42-10). 

Margin

The amount required from a client to place the trade – in addition to any deposit due – to cover losses when a price moves adversely. Sometimes called 'variation margin'. For a sports bet, the amount of margin required is determined by the stake being placed and the volatility of the market. A bet on a market like Supremacy in a football match is far less volatile than say one on cricket runs in a Test match. 

Match Bet

A sports bet in which we price up one participant against another and you can get ‘for’ or ‘against’ either participants. For example, we price up a Match Bet on every horse race where we pitch one horse against another. It doesn’t matter who wins the race, your bet is on who will win between the two chosen runners. Match bets are also available in Golf where we price up one golfer against another over 18 or 72 holes so you can bet on how just these two players will perform against each other.

P&L

Abbreviation of profit and loss: how much you have made or lost.

Sell

You 'sell' a market if you think it will fall (if you are opening a new bet). You also 'sell' to close out an existing 'buy' bet.

Settlement

The process of a bet closing against a specified market level once the bet has gone beyond its last dealing time for financials and in sports settlement is based on the result of the event – in a 3-1 football result, Total Goals would make up at 4 and Supremacy at 2.

Sports Trading Limit

Total of all money deposited, taking into account the balance of winnings/ losses from closed bets, plus winnings/ losses on open bets, plus any credit allowance.

Spread (aka bid/offer spread)

The difference between the buying and selling price for a particular bet and the basis on which all of our markets are offered to trade. Our spread is based on the live market price. 

Supremacy

A spread bet on how much one team will beat another by in sports. This can apply to how many goals team A will beat team B by in football or points team A will beat team B by in rugby and so on. This result can make up positive or negative – team A may have been quoted at 1.2-1.4 on the supremacy market, but if they are beaten 3-0 the supremacy would make up at -3 and buyers at 1.4 would lose 4.4 times their stake. 

Trade Confirmation ID

A 6 digit alpha numeric code unique to each online trade, which is shown on screen and printable, together with various confirmatory details of the trade, immediately after the trade has been accepted. It is required in order for Sporting Index to investigate any online trading queries.  

Up Bet (also see Buy)

In Sports, you buy if you think the result will be higher than our quote (say more points in a rugby match) and you buy at the higher of the two prices quoted (e.g. 46 - 49, you buy at 49).