Sports spread betting is a type of betting that involves predicting where a score, time or results will be. The more accurate you are the more you win, but also the more incorrect you are the more you lose. With sports spread betting you buy or sell on a pounds per point basis a price depending on whether you think it will be higher to lower than a sports spread betting bookies prediction.
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What is sports spread betting?
Sports spread betting is a form of betting where the aim is to predict an event’s outcome, much like traditional betting. However, the rewards and risks can be greater depending on the performance of your prediction. The markets are made up of customers selecting either to buy or sell the market. There are hundreds of different markets that give sports betting a whole new dimension. However, this isn’t a new concept. Spread betting has been around since the 70s. Some of the sports spread betting providers are Spreadex, Sporting Index, and Smarkets.
How does Sports Spread betting work?
An example of a sports spread bet would be if you want to place a bet on a particular football match and you believe the outcome will be lots of goals. The spread is set at 1.8 – 2.0. You place a buy bet for £20 per point, and the final score finishes 4-0. Therefore, the points total finish at 4, you minus the 2, which give you a total goals market of 2. You then multiply this figure by your stake, and your profit for this game is £40. If you choose to sell the market, you will profit from any scoreline under 1.8 goals.
Sports spread betting firms in the UK
There are two main sports spread betting firms in the UK, and they are as follows:
- Spreadex – Spreadex was formed in 1999 and is based in St. Alban’s, Hertfordshire. They launched an online service in 2006 and have been named best sports spread betting service five times.
- Sporting Index – Sporting Index was formed in 1992, and they employ 180 staff members who are all based on their London headquarters.
Sports spread betting tipsters
Like conventional sports betting, sports spread betting has many online tipsters and blogs to help you and give you insight into the industry. What’s interesting is that most of these blogs sit on the sports spread betting providers’ websites. There are some great articles and forums, especially on the Spreadex and Sporting Index websites. There are also independent websites that offer tips and advice; some charge for this service, and some don’t.
Sports spread betting in the UK
Sports spread betting in the UK is highlight popular for one main reason, it’s different. We live in a society that wants to try new and innovative things continuously, and the way we bet is no different. Sports spread betting puts an entirely new spin on sports betting and is one of the fastest-growing sports betting sectors in the UK.
Spreadex spread betting
Spreadex is one of the leading spread betting providers based in the UK. They offer hundreds of different spread betting markets to bet within various sports such as horse racing, football, cricket, rugby, and many more. Unlike Sporting Index, Spreadex also allows you to trade on financial markets. They also allow you the option to bet in-play on selected markets. However, they don’t offer a free play demo service like Sporting Index, so you will have to know what you are doing from the off.
Sporting Index spread betting
Sporting Index is the oldest spread betting provider in the UK. They offer a wide variety of markets to bet on from sports worldwide, including horse racing, football, snooker, tennis, golf, and many more. Unlike Spreadex, they don’t offer betting on financial markets. Their payout service is fast and reliable, which has been confirmed by many existing customers. They run their own spread betting blog, which is hosted on the website and offers many tips. Sporting Index is renowned for their customer service support, and they have many means of contact. Sporting Index offers a free trial service which means that you can place practice bets which is an excellent feature if you are new to spread betting.
Sports spread betting arbitrage
Sports spread betting arbitrage works similarly to backing and laying on the exchange market but instead works on the spread markets. To achieve this in spread betting, you must buy and sell on the same market with two different spread betting companies offering different spread ranges. The idea is to buy the market and then sell the market at a higher price which essentially means this is a riskless profit. An example of this would be Spreadex is offering a total point spread on a basketball match of 200 – 205. However, Sporting Index has the market set at 177 – 182. The customer buys the market with Sporting Index for £50 a point and then sells the market with Spreadex at £50 per point. If the basketball match finished with 195 points, the customer would make £650 from Sporting Index and a further £250 from Spreadex. If the total points fall below 177 or above 205, the customer would still win but slightly differently. If the total points finished at 215, they would lose £750 with Spreadex, but they would win £1650 with Sporting Index. Both outcomes achieve a profit of £900.
Sports spread betting free bets
Most spread betting companies will offer free bets, especially to new customers. The following companies are running these promotions at present:
Spreadex free bets
Spreadex are currently offering its new customer the option to claim £300 cashback from any losses made in their first 28 days of using their account or they can choose an Ipad.
Sporting Index free bets
Sporting Index runs two free bet promotions currently, but both are only available to new customers. The first is offering new clients £50 to use when they open a new account and the second promotion is when a new customer places five £5 fixed odds bets you receive a free £25 bet.
As with all promotions, terms and conditions apply, so be sure to read them before signing up to ensure that you qualify for these bonuses.
Sports spread betting websites
Sports spread betting is becoming increasingly popular, and more and more companies are starting to offer this service. These companies include:
- Spreadex
- Sporting Index
- Star Spreads
- Sports Spreads
Sports spread betting versus fixed odds
As previously mentioned, the benefit of spread betting, as opposed to fixed-odds betting, is you are rewarded with spread betting the more you are right on a particular market. If you are only slightly wrong, you lose a portion of the bet, wherein fixed odd betting, you would lose 100℅ of your stake. It can be riskier, though, as with fixed odds betting, there are only two outcomes, win or lose, and you know the exact risks before placing the bet as there are only two amounts that you can win or lose. However, with spread betting, the rewards and risks are more significant. You can even lose more money than you have in your betting wallet, which is not something that can happen with fixed odds betting.
Sports spread betting calculator
A sports spread betting calculator is a handy tool, especially for customers new to spread betting. It works out best-case and worst-case scenarios on a particular market that you wish to bet on. You chose the market that you want to bet on, set the stake you want to bet on per point (this can be changed so that you can increase potential profits or decrease potential losses), select whether you wish to buy or sell the market and then slide the slider along the bottom which indicates the total makeup of the market. It will show you what you could potentially win or lose.
You can see sports spread betting calculators by sport here:
- Football spread betting calculator
- Rugby spread betting calculator
- Horse Racing spread betting calculator
- Cricket spread betting calculator
- Tennis spread betting calculator
- NFL spread betting calculator
- Greyhounds spread betting calculator
Sports spread betting companies UK
All of the sports spread betting companies discussed are based in the UK and are all regulated by the UK gambling commission. The UK gambling commissions offer licenses to these companies to ensure that proper conduct is being followed. They also ensure that vulnerable gamblers are protected to try to eradicate problem gambling. You are also safe in the knowledge that your money is protected as well as your details.
Guide to Sports spread betting
You can find many online sports spread betting guides, but some of the best ones are hosted on the spread betting sites themselves. For example, both Spreadex and Sporting Index have some fantastic guides on their websites which are catered for different levels of gamblers. They also offer blogs and forums to discuss experiences or various markets listed or even post tips. There are other independent guides online, some are free, and some come at a cost.
Sports spread betting on Australian Rules
Although Australian Rules is played solely outside the UK, there is sports spread betting available on it. You can bet on this with all of the leading sports spread betting companies such as Spreadex, Sporting Index, and Smarkets. There are many markets to select from, and as most sports spread betting, the supremacy market is one of the most popular. In this market, you are essentially gambling on the result of a match between two teams. The greater the team you are betting on wins by increases your profit margins. If you choose to buy a team in this market, you will start minus a handicap, and if you decide to sell a team, you will begin with a handicap lead. There are, of course, other markets available such as total points, total goals, and total behinds.
Sports spread betting on Basketball
Sports spread betting on basketball is available to bet on with all sports spread betting providers in the UK. You can bet on basketball matches all around the globe, and the markets available include supremacy, total points, total team points, and first-quarter points, as well as others. The first quarter points market is popular as you don’t have to wait very long for this market’s outcome. It works precisely the same way as many total points markets, but it focuses on the first quarter. This is an exciting market if you believe you have two slow-starting teams playing against each other or perhaps the opposite, and you know that both sides are generally quick out of the blocks.
Sports spread betting on Boxing
Sports spread betting on boxing is available to bet on with all sports spread betting providers, and you can bet on feature bouts from all around the world. Types of spread betting available are win index betting, round supremacy, fight minutes, and others. Fight minutes is an exciting market and puts a different spin on your getting and viewing experience. Rather than watching a boxing match and hoping for one boxer to beat another, you either want the fight to end quickly or slowly, and it doesn’t matter who wins the match.
Sports spread betting on cricket
Sports spread betting on cricket is available to bet on with all spread betting companies, allowing you to bet on cricket matches worldwide. Cricket is one of the sports that offer many different markets to bet on. There is something for everyone, whether that is total sixes, ton-ups, total wides, or match run-outs. For those wanting to see plenty of action, total sixes is an excellent market to bet on. This market allows you to bet on whether there will be over or under a certain number of sixes in the game.
Sports spread betting on Cycling
Sports spread betting on cycling is available to bet on with Spreadex, Sporting Index, and Smarkets. Smarkets have the best coverage at present. They allow you to bet on more markets, such as winner stages through the cycling calendar. Most of the other markets are based on race winners, which follows a similar format to fixed odds betting.
Sports spread betting on Darts
Sports spread betting on darts is available with all spread betting providers on all televised darting events. Some of the main markets include leg supremacy, total match legs, total 180s, and the highest match check-out market. The highest match check-out market focuses on the total score hit with three darts or less to win a leg of darts. Therefore, if the spread is set at 119 – 121 and you have bought the market for £10 per point and the highest check out in the game is 140, then the market is settled at 19, and your profit would be £190.
Sports spread betting on e-sports
Sports spread betting on e-sports is made available to customers from Spreadex and Smarkets. The markets cover various games broadcast around the world. One of the games covered is FIFA football, and the main markets covered are win index, goal supremacy, and total goals. The win index 25-10 focuses on the winner of the match being awarded 25 points, 10 points each for a draw, and 0 for the losing team.
Sports spread betting on football
Sports spread betting on football is available on all spread betting websites and is one of the largest spread betting sectors. You can bet on multiple matches from all around the world, and there are hundreds of different markets to choose from, such as shirt numbers, bookings, corners, and first match goal. The shirt numbers market is exciting and is one of the most popular markets to bet. The bet works by buying or selling the points total, which will be set around each team’s shirt numbers. The points are awarded based on each goal scored, and the number added to the points total is reflected by the short number of the player scoring the goal. Therefore, if you think there is a good chance, a particular match could feature many goals, and you buy the market which is set at 33 – 35 for £20 per point and Scott McTominay scores, you would be on to a winner. Scott McTominay wears the number 39 shirt, so 39 points are awarded to the total. The game finishes 1-0, and you make a profit of £80.
Sports spread betting on golf
Sports spread betting on golf is available to very on with all spread betting providers. You can bet on golf tournaments all around the world on several markets. These include winning score, players under par, lowest round, and winning margin. The winning score is an excellent market and perhaps a more appealing market to those who know slightly less about golf. The reason being you don’t have to predict who wins the tournament. You’re watching the golf tournament preview. The experts say the weather conditions are horrendous and brutal to play in. Therefore, you buy the winning score market and hope the winning score is a low one in order to make a profit
Sports spread betting on Greyhounds
Sports spread betting on greyhounds is available with all spread betting companies. Most of the racing is based in either the UK or Australia. You can bet on individual races themselves or the race meeting as a whole. Some of the race meeting markets available are favourites, bananas, starting prices, and trap performance. The trap performance market works similar to the trap challenge with conventional bookmakers. The winning trap for each race is awarded 15 points for winning and 5 points for finishing second. The trap is also awarded 5 points if the trap is vacant or the race is void. The idea is to buy or sell the total market of you think that a particular trap will either do well or not.
Sports spread betting on Handball
Sports spread betting on handball is available through the Spreadex and Smarkets websites. You can bet on various leagues around the world on many different markets. These markets include match supremacy, total goals, and total team goals. The total team goals market can be lucrative if you know you have a very attacking team playing. You only wish to bet on their performance and not the performance of both teams combined, as perhaps the other team is slightly hit and miss. The market works by predicting with that particular team will score over or under the spread set.
Sports spread betting on Horse Racing
Sports spread betting on horse racing is one of the most popular fields within spread betting and can be done through all significant spread betting companies. You can bet on races worldwide, but the majority of the markets are based in the UK and Ireland. There are tons of different markets to choose from, whether that’s based on the whole meeting or an individual race. When betting on an individual race, you can bet on things like Double Number of Winner, Favourite Performance, SP of Winner, or perhaps the match-bet market is more your thing. In this market, you don’t have to predict the race winner as you are betting on one selected horse to beat another. The bet works similar to the supremacy markets and is based on the winning distance one horse beats another by.
Sports spread betting on Ice Hockey
Sports spread betting on Ice Hockey is provided to you by all sports spread betting providers, and you can bet on many Ice Hockey leagues around the world. Some of the game markets you can bet on include match supremacy, total goals, and thrice hockey. The thrice hockey market is exciting, and it works similar to an over and under market, but it has a slight twist. The market works by multiplying the total goals at the end of the first period, with the total goals in the second period, and then finally the total goals scored in the third period, and this gives you your thrice hockey total.
Sports spread betting on Rugby League
Sports spread betting on Rugby League can be done with all major sports spread betting providers. The two main competitions bet on are the Super League in the UK and the NRL in Australia. There are many markets to choose from to bet on, such as match supremacy, player try minutes, the team tries, and kicking metres. The player try minutes can be an excellent market to bet on if you know that a particular player has a good or bad record against a specific team or if they’re in wonderful or terrible form. The market works by adding all of the minutes a try is scored in by the selected player. For example, if he had a good game and scored two tries in the 20th and 61st minutes, his player’s try minutes would be 81. You would then win or lose based on whether you bought or sold the market as the selected spread.
Sports spread betting on Rugby Union
Sports spread betting on Rugby Union can be done through all spread betting providers. You can bet on all different leagues and competitions from around the world. There are many markets to bet on, such as total tries, try rush, 1st match try, and bookings. The total tries market works based on over or under the spread and combines the number of tries scored by each team to achieve the total tries figure. You can choose to either buy or sell the market dependant on whether you think there will be many tries scored in the match or not.
Sports spread betting on snooker
Sports spread betting on snooker is available from all spread betting websites. You can bet on many different tournaments from all around the world. There are loads of other markets to choose from, such as frame supremacy, total frames, and multi-frames. The total frames market is an over or under type of bet where you either buy or sell the number of frames in a particular match.
Sports spread betting on Table Tennis
Sports spread betting on Table Tennis can be done through the Spreadex, and Smarkets spread betting platforms. You can bet on many different competitions from across the globe. As it’s slightly more of a niche market, there aren’t as many markets to be on. However, you can still choose to place a bet on the match-winner market, match supremacy, total games, or total points. The total points market offers more risk and reward than the total games market. The number of points in a table tennis game is much greater than the total number of games.
Sports spread betting on tennis
Sports spread betting on tennis is one of the most popular spread betting sports to bet on, and you can place a bet with any spread betting provider. You can place bets on tournaments all around the world on both the ATP and WTA tours. The markets you can bet on include match supremacy, total sets, total games, and x-courts. The x-courts market is exciting and best used for buyers on games where you think the match will be close. It works by multiplying the number of games won by each player in each set. For example, if player one wins 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, the x-courts make up would be 54.
Sports spread betting on the UFC
Sports spread betting on the UFC can be done through all spread betting companies. You can place a bet on all UFC bouts on various markets such as 10-3 supremacy, 50-25-10 index, fight minutes, and others. The fight minutes market is good, especially if your MMA knowledge isn’t brilliant, as you don’t have to predict the winner of the bout. Instead, you are either buying or selling whether you believe the bout will end quickly or possibly go the distance.
Sports spread betting on Virtual Sports
Sports spread betting on Virtual Sports can be done through all spread betting firms. You can bet on virtual sports like football, horse racing, badminton, greyhounds, motor racing, and table tennis. There are many markets to bet on within these sectors. Still, suppose we focus on the motorsports sector. There are markets such as double number of winner, race squared number, favourite performance, and race multi cars. The race multi cars market works by multiplying the race number of the winning driver by the driver’s race number who comes in second place.
Sports spread betting on Volleyball
Sports spread betting on Volleyball can be done on the Spreadex and Smarkets websites. You can bet on volleyball matches from all around the world on various markets within that match. The markets include supremacy, total sets, and total points, as well as some index markets. The total sets market is similar to an overs and under traditional bet where you bet on whether there will be many sets or the minimum required to win the match.
Is sports spread betting right for you?
If volatility doesn’t frighten you, then spread betting could be an exciting new way for you to enjoy sporting action. Unlike traditional fixed odds bets, the amount you can win or lose is not set in stone. The more right you are in predicting an outcome, the more you’ll win. The flip side, of course, is the more wrong you are, the bigger your loss.
The potential for sizeable downswings is enough to put many people off. It’s also a good reason why only those with a good understanding of betting markets should consider sports spread betting.
Key sports spread betting tips to help you
A sensible strategy over the long term is as much about managing and cutting your losses as it is winning.
- Always know how much you stand to lose on a worst-case basis, making sure you’re comfortable with it.
- Make use of the cash-out facility as you might in traditional fixed odds betting. In spread betting the market will move in-play, so you might be able to cash out for a small profit rather than risk it going wrong and losing.
- Select your stakes wisely. Buying £10 a goal on total goals scored in a football game if the spread is 1.9-2.1 is fine since the maximum you can lose is £21. But you would not be comfortable buying £10 a run in our cricket example because your losses might be substantial. Falling even ten runs short would cost you £100.
- Ensure you understand the market you are entering. In a football game, there may be as many as 20 markets to look through. It might be prudent to concentrate on one market to become expert at it.
- Keep accurate records of your bets. Only by studying your performance can you better assess what is working for you – or what best to avoid.
- Bet with your head, not your heart. So, don’t always back your football team to win by a landslide because that’s what you want to happen (unless you support Manchester City).
There’s plenty of advice online, but your biggest advantage comes from watching a lot of sport. Having a good understanding of the likely outcome of matches will shorten your odds of becoming a winner.
The most popular sports spread betting markets
If you’re just getting started, it’s advisable to bet on the most popular markets, which are less niche than some. Here are the top spread betting markets in the popular sports covered.
Horse Racing Sports Spread betting bet types
- Racing Indices
- Favourites
- Racing Post Favourites
- Winning Distances
- 99s Distances
- 2nd to 3rd Distances
- Racecard Number 1s
- Double Numbers
- Stop at a winner
- Multi-mules
- Jockey Index
- Match Bets
Football sports spread betting bet types
- Total goals scored in a game
- Supremacy bets – the number of goals a team will win by
- Total points a team secures throughout the season
- Supremacy
- Total goals
- Shirt numbers
- First match goal
- Total goal minutes
- Last match goal
- Player goal minutes
- Total points
- Championship index
- Relegation index
- Corners
- Multi corners
- Cross corners
- Corners squared
- Match bookings
- Cross bookings
- Multi bookings
- Home/Away
- Fastest goal
- Spreadex bankers
- 25:10 index
- Team performances
- Match performance
- Team mini performance
Rugby sports spread betting bet types
- Team tries scored in a single game
- Supremacy bets – can cover point-winning margin
- Total points scored in the game
- First match try
- First team try
- Player try minutes
- Team tries
- Team shirts
- Total points
- Team multi points
- Kicking meters
- Mini performance
- Team performance
- Hotshots
- Rugby handicap
Cricket sports spread betting bet types
- Player runs/wickets by a named player in a cricket series
- Supremacy bets based on runs or wickets a team wins by
- Batsmen runs for a single innings
- 50/100 Ups
- Player runs
- Total wickets
- Total 4s
- Total 6s
- Total run-outs
- Total Wides
- Batsman runs
- Series wickets
- Bowler performance
- Player performance
- Team runs
- First 6 over runs
- First 15 over runs
- Fall of next wicket
- 25:10 index
- Outright index
Golf sports spread betting bet types
- Finishing positions in a tournament
- Match bets cover the shot difference between two players over a round
- The winning score is the four-round total score for a tournament winner
- 10-3 supremacy
- 10:3 matchplay supremacy
- Live index
- Finishing position
- 72-hole match bets
- 10-3 match bets
- Leaderboard
- Hotshots
- Super 10 index
- Winning score
- Players under par
- Lowest round
- Winning margin
Tennis sports spread betting bet types
- Supremacy bets for the number of games a player wins by
- Total games played in a match
- Total aces in a match or by a player
- Game supremacy
- 10-5 match supremacy
- Points supremacy
- Total games played
- Player games
- Cross courts
- Total points played
- Total match aces
- Total player aces
- Total match double faults
- Total double faults
NFL sports spread betting
- Points supremacy
- Supremacy plus
- Pass yeards supremacy
- Super bowl index
- Divisional index
- Total touchdowns
- Total touchdown minutes
- touchdown yardage
- Touchdown shirt numbers
- Plyer touchdown minutes
- Player touchdown mega minutes
- Total points
- Team points
- Multi points
- Team performance
- Shirt bets
- Field goal bets
- Sacks bets
Pros and cons of sports spread betting
The nature of the beast is that the advantage of spread betting, namely the opportunity to make large gains, is also its disadvantage because you can also make substantial losses. Losses can exceed your deposit, so be vigilant. One benefit is that spread betting firms are governed by the Financial Conduct Authority, meaning they must operate a safe and secure business and be clear in outlining the risks and educating customers.
A clear benefit is the sheer number of markets. It makes watching sport more engaging because every goal, try or run scored might inch you closer to or further in profit (or loss, of course). With fixed odds, if you bet on 0-0 in a football match and someone scored in the first minute, your interest is ended right away.
However, spread betting is more difficult for new betters to get to grips with, and that can lead to expensive mistakes.
Sports Spread Betting FAQ:
What happens in a sports betting spread tie?
A sports betting spread tie is when the outcome matches one of the numbers in the spread and forces a tie or a draw. Most spread betting companies tried to avoid using a whole number in a spread bet, but it occasionally happens. An example of this would be the total goal marker is set at 1.8 – 2.0 in a football match, and the scoreline finishes 1-1. This means that your stake is returned, and your bet is a tie.
What is the spread in sports spread betting?
Every market consists of two prices. The lower is the ‘sell’ price, and the higher is the ‘buy’ price (275-285 in our cricket example). This difference is known as the spread. The spread consists of the betting site’s mark-up, which is how they make their money. In our example, the actual forecast would be 280 runs, but you must buy at 285 or sell at 275 – ensuring £5 to the site.
How does sports spread betting differ from fixed odds betting?
In normal betting, you place a bet at fixed odds. If you lose, you forfeit your stake, and if you win, you know the winning sum in advance. But spread betting throws convention out of the window. Now, you’re betting not only on how much higher or lower a result will be to the one forecast, but you’re also wagering a set amount for each point reached above or below that figure.
Let’s take a simple example. The spread (this is the marker set by the betting site) for runs scored by England in a cricket innings might be 275-285. Using your knowledge, you reason the score will be higher than 285, so you ‘buy’ £1 a run. Now, if England score more than 285, you get £1 for each run above it. So, if they make 340, you win £55. While that sounds tempting, what happens if they get bowled out for 150? You lose £135!
Taking the same 275-285 spread, you might forecast England would fall short, in which case you would ‘sell’ £1 a run at the lower 275 figure. For every run below 275, you make a pound, but if they romp to 340 you lose £65.
The same concept can be used in multiple sports – goals, corners or cards in football matches, games played or the number of aces in tennis matches, the points scored in rugby and so on.
UK Spread betting is not to be confused with US-style point spread betting, where you bet a fixed amount to back the favourite team to win by a certain margin, or the underdog to lose within a specified points deficit.
With sports spread betting you also don’t have to work about old-fashioned fractional odds. you can work these out with our Fractional to decimal odds converter but not having an added layer of maths when betting can make life easier.
How does sports spread betting differs from betting exchanges?
Both sports spread betting and betting exchanges such as Smarkets, Betdar and Betdaq allow punters to bet on someone losing and by laying or selling a bet and can bother therefore be used for matched betting. However with betting exchanges return and liability are fixed whereas with sports spread betting returns are variable depending on how accurate your prediction is. Also, with betting exchanges, bets are absolute so you either win or lose, whereas with sports spread betting the more right you are the more you win and vice versa – the more wrong you are the more you lose.
Can you make money Sports spread betting?
Sports spread betting can be very lucrative, but it comes with some high risks also. The main benefit of sports spread betting is that you are essentially paid out more to be more correct about a particular market. For example, suppose you bet on over 2.5 goals with a conventional bookmaker, and there are five goals in the game. In that case, you sometimes feel cheated that you have essentially guessed over 4.5 goals, but you are only getting paid out on the odds for over 2.5 goals. With spread betting, you would be paid out more for this. If you are only marginally wrong and there were two goals in the match, you would only lose a smaller portion of your bet. With a traditional bookmaker, the bet would be classed as a losing bet, and you would lose all of your stakes. However, there are more significant risks, and you can lose more money than you have in your betting wallet. Generally, most companies will only accept affordable bets for the client, but the risks are still there.