Glossary
Betting terms and vocabulary
Betting Glossary
Betting Glossary and Terminology
A
Accumulator: Also called combo, multiples, or parlay. A type of bet that combines multiple events on a single bet slip.
Action: Having a bet, a wager on a game or an event.
Advantage Play: Any betting technique that mathematically guarantees a profit in the long run by combining any type of bonus or incentives, with a betting/playing strategy that would allow the fulfillment of the rollover requirements. Bonus and incentives could include particular sports offers, accumulator refund offers, virtual sports offers, and casino offers.
Alert Service: Any software that alerts bettors visually and/or by sound and according to his preferences, when betting odds in various markets create an arbitrage position, a value bet, or any other desired betting situation.
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Ante-Post bet: A bet placed on an event at least a day before it actually happens and before odds become available to the wider audience.
API: Abbreviation for Application Programming Interface, is a computing interface which defines interactions between multiple software intermediaries.
Arbing: Also called Sports Arbitrage, is a betting technique where a player simultaneously places bets on all possible outcomes of an event at odds that guarantee a profit, whatever the result of the event will be. These bets are also known as arbs.
Asian Handicap: A bet that allows for setting goal advantage or disadvantage for a team.
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B
Backdoor Cover: When a team scores points at the end of a game to cover the spread against odds and unexpectedly.
Bad Beat: An unexpected, often last moment loss of a bet. Losing a bet you should have won. It’s especially used when the betting result is decided late in the game to change the side that covers the spread.
Banker Bet/Bank Bet: Banker bet is betting on the favorite to win, i.e. a profit is expected. It is also a term used in system bets, where a selection must win, or the entire coupon loses.
Bankroll: All available funds a player has to bet with. They could be deposited in bookmakers, e-wallets, banks or even cash in the pocket that could be used for betting.
Beard: Also known as a runner, someone who places a bet for another person.
Betting Agent: Also known as Betting Broker, is an intermediary who offers accounts in several bookmakers to bet with.
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Betting Bot: Also called Bot, is a software that uses a bookmaker’s Application Programming Interface to speed up the process of placing bets based upon a proper filtering system and betting strategy to decide which bets to place.
Betting pool: A type of gambling where people pay a fixed price to enter and then once taxes and profits are removed the remaining funds are distributed amongst those who have made correct predictions.
Book/Bookmaker/Bookie: An establishment that generates odds for events and accepts bets.
Bookie: A person who accepts bets illegally and charges vig.
C
Canadian Line: A term in hockey, which is a combination of Moneyline and point spread.
Chalk: Also known as a Favourite, is the expected straight-up winner in a game or event.
Chalk player: One that usually bets on favorites.
Circled Game: A game or an event on which bookmakers are accepting bets of limited height due to some uncertainty regarding an important aspect of the competition.
Clean Sheet: A betting market that allows the player to select the number of goals a team will accept during a match.
Closing Line: The final odds offered by bookmakers just right before the game or the event begins.
Contrarian Betting: Also known as betting against the public, contrarian betting finds value by betting on games with lopsided betting percentages.
Cover: The betting result on a point-spread bet. For a favorite to cover, it has to win by more than the spread, an underdog covers by winning outright or losing by less than the spread.
D
Decimal odds: A way of displaying odds, typically used in Europe.
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d’Alembert: A betting system when stakes are increased after a loss and decreased after a win by one base staking unit.
Dime: Jargon for a $1,000 bet. If you bet ‘’five dimes’’, that means a $5,000 wager.
Dog: Also known as an outsider, short for the underdog.
Dog Player: A player that mostly bets on the underdog.
Dog/Underdog: The team that is considered unlikely to win, therefore with higher odds.
Double Chance: A bet where the player predicts 2 of the 3 possible outcomes (1,X,2). For example, in the game, Chelsea – Liverpool, a player can bet on 1X if he thinks that Liverpool cannot win.
Doubles: A combo bet with 2 selections. Both must be successful to get a return.
Draw No Bet (DNB): A betting market that eliminates the draw (returning the stake back in case of a draw, as if a bet was never placed). The player can bet for a home or away win.
Dutching: Betting on more than one selection on an event (but not all of them) to make an equal profit regardless of the winner.
E
Each Way: Usually for horses, but also in football. The bet consists of 2 equal wagers – betting on a ‘Win’ and betting on a ‘Place’ (top 2,3,4 depending on the particular offering).
Early Odds: Also called early markets are the odds on a game or an event offered by bookmakers many days before the game/event takes place and earlier compared to the majority of bookmakers.
Edge: Any kind of advantage a bettor might have in order to win money from betting.
European Handicap: A betting market where one of the teams is given a goal advantage/disadvantage. Unlike the Asian handicap, there are 3 possible outcomes.
Even Money: A bet that returns a profit equal to the stake. Odds of 2.00.
E-wallet: Also known as ewallet or digital wallet, is an online service that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party by exchanging digital currency units or electronic funds/money for goods and services.
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Exchange: An alternative to bookmakers, operating in the same philosophy as the stock market, where players bet against fellow players, often sometimes trading their bets, with the betting exchange acting as an intermediary.
Exotic Bet: Any wager other than a straight bet or parlay, can also be called a “prop” or “proposition wager.”
Exposure: The maximum amount of money a bookmaker or a player, can lose in a particular game/event.
F
Favorite: Also known as Chalk, is the expected straight-up winner in a game or event.
FCA: The Financial Conduct Authority. A body that regulates financial organizations (including e-wallets) and financial advisors in order to provide confidence to consumers and businesses.
Fixed: A participant in a particular game who alters the result of that game or match to a completely or partially predetermined result. The participant did not play honestly or fairly because of undue outside influence.
Fixed Odds: Odds that are pre-determined, meaning that the expected profit can be calculated at the time of placing the bet.
Fractional Odds: A particular way of displaying odds that is used in the UK.
Futures bet: A long-term bet that typically relates to a team’s season-long success. Common futures bets include betting a team to win a championship at the outset of a season.
G
Getting Down: Placing a Bet.
Gubbing: Gubbing is a term describing the restriction of a betting account by a bookmaker usually by excluding it from promotions bonuses and free bets, or by limiting the height of stakes.
H
Half Time/Full Time: Prediction of the result of a match at half-time and the final result.
Handicap: A method used by bookmakers to make a one-sided event to become more attractive for betting, where point advantage (e.g. goals) is given to a team.
Handle: The total amount of money that is staked on an event (a group of events).
Head to Head: A bet where the player predicts which of 2 participants will finish with better results.
Hedging: Placing bets on the opposite outcome in order to minimize potential losses.
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High Roller: A high-stakes gambler.
Hook: A half-point. If a team is a 7.5-point favorite, it is said to be “laying seven and a hook.”
I
IBAS: The Independent Arbitration Betting Service, which solves betting disputes between punters and bookmakers.
IBIA: The International Betting Integrity Association, a monitoring & alert organization designed to detect and report suspicious betting activity using detailed consumer data.
In-Running Bets: Also known as In-Play Bets or In-Game Bets, when bets are placed during an event.
J
Juice: Also called the vig/vigorish or Margin, is the commission the bookie or bookmaker takes when offering odds for a game or an event.
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K
KYC: Abbreviation for Know Your Customer. A process implemented by bookmakers for identifying and verifying the identity of their clients, their suitability, and risks involved for maintaining a business relationship. This process could take place upon registration of an account and periodically over time.
L
Lay: Betting on something not to happen, for instance on a team not to win a game. Usually used in betting exchanges.
Layoff: Money bet by a bookmaker to another bookmaker to reduce liability.
Line: The odds or point spread offered at a sports event.
Live Betting: Betting during the game with odds varying and changing, as the game progresses.
Locusts: Group of players under the guidance of bigger players, attacking to any possible source of profit to suck as much capital as they can, in a short period of time. Not to be confused with Syndicates.
Lock: A guaranteed win in the eyes of the person who made the wager.
Long-shot: A risky bet, having slim chances of being confirmed.
M
Martingale: Betting system with doubling stake every time a bet is lost.
Margin: Also called the vig/vigorish or Juice, is the commission the bookie or bookmaker takes when offering odds for a game or an event.
Matched Betting: Also known as back bet matching, lay bet matching or double bеtting, is a bеtting technique to profit from free bets, bonuses, and other incentives and promotions offered by bookmakers.
Middling: Is a betting technique that takes advantage of shifts in lines or total score markets. A middle consists of two opposing lines or totals wagers on the same market. The two bets are placed at different lines or totals in such a way that there’s a chance that the final score will fall in the middle of the two numbers, meaning both bets will win.
Money Line: A way of displaying odds, used by Americans. Shows the amount that needs to bet, in order to win $100 or the amount that can be won by betting $100. Also, a Money Line is the final outcome, the winner of a game.
Multi-accounting: Refers to the process of using more than one account in order to gain an unfair advantage over opponents and bookmakers.
Multiples: A bet that includes more than one selection. You win this bet if all your selections are successful.
N
Nickel: Jargon for a $500 bet. Usually used with bookies; if you bet “a nickel,” that means a $500 wager
Non-runner: A participant who has registered to run in a race, but eventually does not do so. Often for horses.
Novelty betting: Betting on events that have almost nothing to do with sports, like popular TV shows, Eurovision, Oscars, Royal Weddings specials, and presidential elections.
O
Odds: The bookmaker’s prediction of the chance a competitor will win (adjusted to include profit).
Oddsmaker: Also linemaker, is the person who sets the odds for a bookmaker.
Off the board: When a book or bookie has taken a bet down and is no longer accepting action or wagers on the game. This can happen if there is a late injury or some uncertainty regarding who will be participating.
Outsider: A team or horse considered the underdog.
Over/Under: A betting market where the predicted total number of goals in a match is more or less than the limit set by the bookmaker (e.g. Over 2.5 goals, meaning 3 or more goals are scored, regardless of which team did the actual scoring).
Overlay: An event, where the player believes that the chances are higher than the given odds. Often used in horse racing.
P
Palp: Also called Palpable Error. An obvious mistake by the bookmaker, such as reversed odds of a match, typos, or any other kind of accidental errors made while quoting the odds.
Pari-Mutuel: Race gambling where all bets are pooled and winners are paid out according to the size of the pool and number of total winners.
Parlay: Also called accumulator, combo, multiples or parlay. A type of bet that combines multiple events on a single bet slip.
Picks: Also called tips are predictions to bet on, chosen by experts.
Point spread: Also known as Spread, is the number of points by which the supposed better team is favored over the underdog.
Proposition (or prop) bet: Also known as Exotic Bet, is any wager other than a straight bet or parlay.
Punter: Also called Bettor. A person who places bets.
Push: When an event ends with no winner. The return of stake due to event cancellation or draw.
R
Rag: Another word for an outsider.
Risk Score: A general practice in applied statistics, biostatistics, econometrics, and other related disciplines, of creating an easily calculated number that reflects the level of risk in the presence of some risk factors. It is used by bookmakers to identify potential winners and losers.
ROI: Abbreviation for Return of Investment. A number deriving from the division of profit and the total stake.
ROR: Abbreviation for Rollover Requirement. Also called Wagering Requirement. The number of times that a player must risk his initial deposit and any bonus taken, before allowed to withdraw any winnings without being penalized.
Roundabout: A system of 3 bets over 3 selections.
Runner: Also known as Beard, is someone who makes bets for another person.
S
Sharbing: Also known as Shop Arbing or Street Arbing, is a type of arbitrage betting where the bettor or a runner, is placing bets at a real street bookmaker shop and lay or cover them online to secure a profit.
Sharp player: A professional, sophisticated sports bettor.
Spread Betting: Also known as action line or Moneyline. A bet, in which the result of an event is predicted.
Square player: A casual gambler. Someone who typically isn’t using sophisticated reasoning to make a wager.
Stake: The amount placed as a bet.
Steam: When a line is moving unusually fast.
Sure Bet: Also known as miraclebet, surewin or just arb is a set of bets, placed on all possible outcomes of an event at odds that guarantee a profit, whatever the result of the event will be.
Syndicate: A group of people who combine resources and skills to make a profit from gambling. It can be something as simple as two people or a large organization with employees, hierarchy, and investors. Not to be confused with Locusts.
T
TAB: Abbreviation for Totalisator Agency Board, is the name given to monopoly organizations in Australia and New Zealand to operate Betting shops and websites. Most of TABs have been privatized.
Teaser: Betting multiple teams and adjusting the point spread in all the games in the bettor’s favor. All games have to be picked correctly to win the wager.
Tips: Also called picks are predictions to bet on, chosen by experts.
Tipster: An expert who gives tips and advice on betting.
Total points number: A bet, in which the player predicts whether the total number of points will exceed the limit set by the bookie. Often used in basketball.
Tout: Someone who sells his expertise in sports wagering.
Trading: Also known as Sports Trading is backing and laying odds for a profit before the end of an event.
U
Underdog: Also called Dog. The team that is not likely to win.
V
Value Betting: Is a Betting technique where players are betting when a bookmaker is offering much higher odds than the real probability of an outcome.
Vig/vigorish: Also called Margin or Juice, is the commission the bookie or bookmaker takes when offering odds for a game or an event.
W
Wager: A bet.