Gambling is
everywhere and there are countless different ways to make your bet and
hundreds of betting outlets. The prime
consideration is whether the people you are dealing with are honest and
financially secure. If not, forget them and find someone else. People from the
gambling or racing business often appear on television to promote the squeaky
clean image. Their message is that it is very rare to find someone crooked in
their business and if they do they are rooted out quickly. If you believe them,
hit yourself over the head with a spanner until you don't. There are however
plenty of safe ways to bet on horses and sports and other public events that
allow us to gamble with confidence.
Value
Value? You're asking why there is a section on value aren't
you. Well betting is just like spending your money anywhere else. When you go
to the market you look for 'value for money' and it should be the same here.
The two things are the same.
If you are a casual gambler who just
likes a punt on the Grand National, Derby and the General election, you can
think of yourself as the shopper who goes to a music store occasionally and
buys something with a good looking cover. Its pure luck if the tracks on the CD
turn out to be to your liking, in fact they are most likely going to be so-so.
There is nothing wrong with this because there is fun to be had with the
unknown, as there is with your casual bets. So long as you don't risk too much
money.
If however you are a more frequent shopper, you really
don't want your CD and DVD shelves stacked with stuff you will never take out
of their covers having paid "inflated prices" for them. You want to be
discerning, getting what you want for the right price. If you see the Video you
want on sale in Joe's Entertainment Store but you know that Mike's Videos has
it cheaper, you'll be heading to see Mike, unless he lives out of
town.
Finding the Bet
that you want So the first point of getting value is looking to
get the bet you want. If you think Arsenal are going to beat Liverpool 3-2,
don't bet on them winning 3-1.
Finding the right price The second and most
important point is you should way up the odds of the event you are betting on.
For instance, if you think that it is a 10-1 shot that it will snow on
Christmas Day (i.e. it will happen once in every 11 years on average), do not
bet when the only odds you can get are 8-1. On the other hand if you are
confident that you know what the odds are and they are offering you 15-1, then
jump in with as much money as won't make you cry.
We
suggest looking through text pages on your TV, the Internet or Newspapers to
find the best value bet on what your particular wager is. Always try to bet TAX
FREE.
Bookmakers are a bread of
people who live by selling something for more than it is worth. That's an odd
way of looking at it but exactly true. Their living comes from customers having
bets at lower odds than the
real ones. See a more detailed explanation in Bookmaking Explained.
What is a
bookmaker? A bookmaker is any person who carries on the business of
negotiating bets.
Who can act as a bookmaker? A person may
act as a bookmaker only if they hold a bookmaker's permit. This is issued by
the Betting Licensing Committee at the local Magistrates Court. The Committee
will need to be satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person to hold
a permit.
Who requires a betting
office licence? Bookmakers are allowed to operate either on a track or
in premises licensed for betting. In the latter case the bookmaker would
require a betting office licence. Only the holder of a bookmaker's permit may
hold a betting office licence. Applications are made to the Betting Licensing
Committee who will consider whether the premises are suitable and whether there
is a demand in the locality for the facilities.
What if a punter is dealt with unfairly by a
bookmaker? There are no statutory regulations to enforce the payment of
gambling debts or to determine the validity of a particular bet. This is an
issue between the parties involved in the wager and, therefore, not a matter
where the Government wants to intervene. In the event that a punter feels that
they have been treated unfairly, they can contact the Independent Betting
Arbitration Service (IBAS) at PO Box 4011, London, E14 5BB.
IBAS was launched in November 1998. It offers an
independent non-statutory arbitration service to settle betting disputes. The
Service is supported by the main industry trade associations. It is free of
charge to customers of bookmakers who are registered with it. Bookmakers in
this scheme have to declare their intention to assist IBAS in any
investigations and to abide by its decisions.
Most of the main Bookmaking firms have Highstreet shops (on
the wane), Telephone betting services and now Internet betting services. The
shops still charge U.K. betting levy tax at 9%. There are complicated telephone
services that enable you to bet tax free. Now the most flexible and efficient
way of betting is through the Internet. See our Internet reviews.
Spread Betting
Spread Betting has
been around for 25 years or so but the decade of the 1990s saw a rapid growth
in its popularity and turnover. Spread
betting is, and always has been, a type of Contract For Difference (CFD). This
is a term used by people in the regulatory departments (something like the SFA)
to make gambling their business. A CFD is basically a bet on the number.
CFD example : A quote
of 1650-1700 is given for the number of runs scored by the Aussies in the next
Ashes series. You buy for £1 at 1700. They finish up scoring 2045 and you
pocket the difference of 2045 and 1700 multiplied by your stake. So you get
(2045-1700)x£1 = £345.
Really you are
just betting on the numbers but the powers that be want to call it something
that they can regulate and get paid more for doing it. All the firms that trade
under the guise of Spread Betting taut the SFA badge.
Our
advice isthat just because a betting firm has a regulatory badge, it doesn't
mean its safe for you to go ploughing in. This is a volatile business and you
must take the responsibility for your bets. If you are just beginning with
Spreads then always consider what the maximum downside is, no matter how
unlikely.
Basically a
Spread Betting firm is quoting you some numbers which you can bet on. If you
think that the high number will be exceeded then bet on that. If you think the
low number will not be reached then bet on that. There will always be a gap
between the two numbers and that is the market makers spread. This creates
their profit.
How? Well if the gambling public is split down the
middle on their views then some will bet low, some high and the rest not bother
because they thought the result would be in the middle of the spread. Thus with
people betting either side of a gap, the firm will make more from which ever
side loses than they have to pay out to the side that wins.
What is so good about Spread
Betting? There are three really nice things that make Spreads
attractive.
Flexibility -
You can construct a market around anything imaginable
For or Against
- You have the option of betting on both good and bad performances
Money in the
bank - Most of the time you are betting on credit
So in a world
hungry for more adventure and more exotic challenges, Spread Betting is going
to be expanding for some time. And what could they do to really spice it up?
Well gamble on margin of course. It won't be long.
We like
the idea of Spreads. For one thing, increased choice should only increase the
chances of finding a good bet. Take care that the adventurous person in you
doesn't get carried away with all the options.
Bookmakers and Spread Betting firms are companies designed to
take your money. If you could only find a real person who has the same interest
in betting as you do but with the opposite viewpoint, then you could bet with
them instead. There would be no tax or bookmaker's
vig.
Well now
there are services designed to do just
this, only they will be charging you a couple of percent for their trouble.
How Does It Work? You think of the bet you would like to make
and look through a bet exchanging web site to see if anyone has listed their
intention to take such a bet on. If not then you can list your desired bet and
hope someone else looks at it and chooses to accept it.
What to bet
on The sites usually concentrate on Racing, Sports Betting and World
Events. However you can dream up any bet you fancy, like 'how many shows before
someone wins the £1million in "Who wants to be a millionaire"'. Each site
explains how to formulate the wording so that it is easy to read.
How
to Pay Before taking or posting a bet, punters must deposit money with
the website. As soon as a bet is struck the amounts staked are immediately
taken from the accounts and placed in a holding account until the bet is
resolved.
How does the site make money? Bets have a percentage
deducted in the range 2.5-5%. It depends on the site you are in and
there is also a difference in the way you are charged. For instance some take
money from the total payout (including the returned stake) and others from the
net profit.
Point - check the site for exact details and look at
Internet review.
What's this Line Betting about? Line Betting is allowed in
one of the bet exchange sites. It
is an even-money paid bet where you take a position either side of two possible
outcomes of the event. e.g. England runs vs. Australia may quote 225-230
(a bit like a spread), thats called the Line. Selling the Line
means you win if they score less than 225 and Buying the line
means winning if they score more than 230. This is popular in the
U.S..
Isn't that more tax than betting 0% tax with a
Bookmaker? Bookmaker prices, even those that are advertised as tax free,
will always have the bookmakers percentage edge built into them (Bookmakers Explained). So betting tax free
with a bookmaker is still betting with a 10-20% margin built into it.
Is there
anything wrong with it? The problem with the bet exchange idea is that
you are limited to what others want, limited to fixed bet sizes and it is much
more difficult to hunt around for value. The variety of taxes on offer doesn't
help.
Conclusion is that this is a very useful addition to the
betting arena and if you have time to trawl these bet exchange sites then you
may pick up a great value bet.
Private
Many people bet
with their friends with small bets on popular sports or public events.
Sometimes you might get involved with a sweepstakes at work or with family.
This is the perfect way to enjoy a gamble and should be encouraged as a piece
of fun.
More serious gamblers will often turn to private
bookmakers who cater for the black market in gambling. On the surface of the
Bookmaking world it would seem that there are so many betting outlets that
private bookmakers have no place. Well sadly they are needed. The High Street
Bookmaker really only wants to win and win from every single person all the
time if they can. Consequently if you are a good gambler and start to have a
bit of a good run then they will ask you to take your business elsewhere. So
the good gamblers do.
You might well ask why private Bookmakers
would take bets from top class gamblers. The answer is that that is where the
best information is found and they in turn can use it make a profit from other
Bookmakers. Essentially only the 'mug-punter' loses, the others are just
sharing the money out.
Private
Bookmaking is for the serious gamblers only. If you are a person who is betting
continuously then you are in trouble, no question. Stop. Seek help. Look to our
Advice page.
Main Menu
hundreds of betting outlets. The prime
consideration is whether the people you are dealing with are honest and
financially secure. If not, forget them and find someone else. People from the
gambling or racing business often appear on television to promote the squeaky
clean image. Their message is that it is very rare to find someone crooked in
their business and if they do they are rooted out quickly. If you believe them,
hit yourself over the head with a spanner until you don't. There are however
plenty of safe ways to bet on horses and sports and other public events that
allow us to gamble with confidence.
Value? You're asking why there is a section on value aren't
you. Well betting is just like spending your money anywhere else. When you go
to the market you look for 'value for money' and it should be the same here.
The two things are the same.
IBAS was launched in November 1998. It offers an
independent non-statutory arbitration service to settle betting disputes. The
Service is supported by the main industry trade associations. It is free of
charge to customers of bookmakers who are registered with it. Bookmakers in
this scheme have to declare their intention to assist IBAS in any
investigations and to abide by its decisions. 
Spread
betting is, and always has been, a type of Contract For Difference (CFD). This
is a term used by people in the regulatory departments (something like the SFA)
to make gambling their business. A CFD is basically a bet on the number.
are services designed to do just
this, only they will be charging you a couple of percent for their trouble.