Home » sports spread betting
Jack Schiffko

In this article, you’ll learn about where you can make sports spread bets in Australia, how to place them, what you can expect from this type of betting, and what you need to do to turn a profit. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about sports spread betting in Australia.

Wide Choice of Sports Spread Betting Markets

09/06/21

Wide Choice of Sports Spread Betting Markets

  • Focus on spread betting
  • Helpful customer service
  • Straightforward user interface
9.7
5 Stars
NO CODE REQUIRED
Play Now
Learn More
0
T&Cs apply

The Best Sports Spread Betting Site in Australia

PointsBet is the only sports spread betting provider in Australia today. This company launched in 2017 and is the fastest-growing betting site in Australia. The country’s only spread betting site has started offering fixed-odds bets, multi-betting, and name-a-bet options. This company offers thousands of markets you can bet in, which is more than most bookmakers. Company is headquartered in Melbourne, and holds a gambling license is from the North Territory Government.

sports spread betting australia

The PointsBet offers a standout free app which boasts a solid 4.6/5 star rating. We love its intuitive navigation, quick withdrawals, large selection of betting markets and amazing customer service. As well as sport spread bets, here are the key features that PointsBet offers:

  • Betting Previews: In popular betting markets, PointsBet gives you helpful information so you can make informed bets.
  • Racing Stats: In this data, you can find race day info, flucs, form and stats for Australian and international races.
  • Name a Bet: With this tool, you can pick how much you want to bet.
  • Live Betting: You can bet on live sports events, but only over the phone.

What we like:

  • Offers ecellent customer prootions;
  • Fast and secure withdrawal;
  • Name-a-bet and multi-bet provide punters with almost unlimited betting options;
  • There are thousands of betting options available;
  • Offers market leading competitive odds

What we don’t:

  • Doesn’t accept many payment methods
  • You can’t customise, your homepage for your favourite markets

What is Sports Spread Betting?

A spread in betting is a guess of what exactly will happen during a sports event, represented by a selling or buying range. So, for a football match, the spread for total goals could be 2.8 – 3. You would ‘buy’ if you think the outcome will be higher than the range. On the other hand, you would ‘sell’ if you’re convinced it will be lower than the range.

In sports spread betting, both your wins and losses are multiplied. This multiplying can lead to substantial potential wins and significant potential losses. That’s why it’s essential to understand each bet before putting money on the line.

Selling

This part of spread betting is a little complicated. To determine how much you stand to lose or win, you would subtract the value from the price then multiply it by your stake.

EXAMPLE

Let’s say you’re betting on the FA Cup clash because you think it’ll be a tight contest, with little activity at the goalmouth. Take a look at this Total Goals spread betting market. In this market, total goals are quoted at 2 – 2.2, and you sell AUD $50 a point at 2. Now let’s say that you happen to be right in your prediction, and there’s a 0 – 0 draw at the end of the game. This score gets you a profit of AUD $100 ((2 – 0) x AUD $50).

But if the game ended in a 1 – 0, your profit would be AUD $50 ((2 – 1) x AUD $50), and if the game ended in a 1 – 1, you wouldn’t have made a profit ((2 – 2) x AUD $50).

Now let’s talk about losses. If the team you bet on scored two or more goals, this would result in you losing money. If the game ended in a 2 – 1, you would be down AUD $50 ((2 – 3) x AUD $50). In a 2 – 2, you would be down AUD $100 ((2 – 4) x AUD $50).

Buying

Buying is the opposite of selling, so you add the value because the odds are negative.

EXAMPLE

Let’s say you’re betting on the big Premier League game; you think it’ll be an end-to-end and open affair. Take a look at the total goals spread betting market. In this market, Total Goals are quoted at 2.8 – 3, and you buy AUD $50 at 3. If you’re correct in your assumption, and the game ends in a 4 – 2 home win, you make a profit of AUD $150 ((6 – 3) x AUD $50). But if the game ended in a 3 – 2, your earnings would be AUD $100 ((5 – 3) x AUD $50). With an ending score of 2 – 2, you would take home AUD $50 ((4 – 3) x AUD $50).

Now we’ll look at losses. In a 2 – 1 ending score, you wouldn’t have won or lost any money ((3 – 3) x AUD $50). But if the team you bet on made three or fewer goals, you would’ve lost money. In a draw of 1 – 1, you would be down AUD $50 ((2 – 3) x AUD $50). While a 1 – 0 score would’ve made you lose AUD $100 ((1 – 3) x AUD $50). In a draw of 0 – 0, you would be down AUD $150 ((0 – 3) x AUD $50).

Understanding Spread Betting Prices

It can be hard to understand sports spread betting prices, especially if you came from other types of betting, like fixed-odds bets. This type of bet comes in three formats: Traditional (5/2), Decimal (3.5), or American (+250). It’s effortless to convert between each of these formats. Sports spreading betting prices, on the other hand, are very different. They’re also difficult to convert and sometimes impossible because there aren’t any fixed wins and losses.

The great thing is that buy and sell prices are often consistent. Typically, the prices for total goals will be around 2.7 to ‘buy’ and 2.5 to ‘sell’. Even so, there are some circumstances where these prices can change, like for goal supremacy.

How to Place a Spread Bet on Sport

We’re going to show you how to place a sports spread bet with PointsBet.

Step 1: Register an Account

First, you need to sign-up on the spread betting site. Signing up to PointsBet is free, quick, and easy.

All you have to do is go to their website, click ‘Sign Up’ and follow the required steps. Once you’ve finished, they will try to verify your account automatically, but if they can’t, they will send you an email for you to verify it manually. Then you can make a deposit through one of the accepted payment options. It doesn’t need to be a significant amount. Only deposit as much as you feel comfortable with.

sports spread betting pointsbet

Step 2: Choose a Market

Do research on the markets and options you want to bet in; there are sporting events and hundreds of markets for each one. Once you feel comfortable with your knowledge of a market, you can log in to see the most popular markets. Then at the top of your screen, you can click on the sport or league you want to bet on.

At the bottom, there are featured sports; you can choose to see the available betting markets if you want. On the right side of the screen, there’s a list of the sports events and races that are coming up. Each has its own countdown to show when the event is happening. If a sport you want to bet on isn’t featured, you can find it by clicking on the menu icon in the top left corner of your screen.

Pointsbet spread betting

Step 3: Make Your Bet

Now that you know what markets you want to bet on, choose whether you want to buy or sell. Click on the button for whichever you want to do; this will add the bet to your slip. Once you’ve entered your bet amount, you can also set a loss adjuster to prevent you from losing too much money. Finally, you can click ‘Place Bet’.

sports spread betting in australia

Pros and Cons of Spread Betting

Pros:

  • The closer you are to your predictions, the more you’ll win. You could end up winning significantly more than you put in;
  • You can make bets on dozens of sporting events, with hundreds of markets for each event;
  • You’ll be able to place in-play bets over the phone, which allows you to make bets while a gaming event is happening.

Cons:

  • Just like you can win large amounts of money, you can also lose large amounts;
  • There aren’t a lot of companies that offer sports spread betting.

Understanding the Risks of Sports Spread Betting

Just like other forms of betting, there are many dangers you have to consider before you make your first spread bet. One of the most significant risks you should be aware of is that you can lose a lot more than your stake. This means it’s essential to understand the possible risks in this type of betting.

  • Volatility in Different Markets: In some markets, the potential outcomes can be significant while others can be minimal. As an example, ‘total goal’ can be less volatile than ‘total goal minutes’.
  • Worst Potential Outcome: Before you place your bet, you should do some calculations to determine the worst possible outcome so you know just how much you can lose.
  • Manage Your Stakes: This is connected to the tip above; make sure you’re not betting so much that it could harm your financial status.

Football Spread Betting

When spread betting on the Rugby League, you’re predicting what will happen in a game. You’ll pick a spread market for a match, then decide whether you want to buy or sell. Your winnings or losses are determined the same way as to spread betting in other sports.

Rugby Buy Example

Let’s say PointsBet has a total tries spread of 7.3 – 7.8, and you buy AUD $50 for 7.8. Your profits would be AUD $110 if the game ended with 10 tries ((10 – 7.8) x AUD $50). If there were eight tries, you would profit from AUD $10 ((8 – 7.8) x AUD $50). But with a game of six attempts, you would lose AUD $90 ((6 – 7.8) x AUD $50).

Rugby Sell Example

If PointsBet has a total tries spread of 7.8 – 8.3, and you sell AUD $50 at 7.8. Your profits would be AUD $140 if the game ended with five tries ((7.8 – 5) x AUD $50). If there were seven tries, you would profit from AUD $40 ((7.8 – 7) x AUD $50). But with the game ending with 10 attempts, you would lose AUD $110 ((7.8 – 10) x AUD $50).

Point Spread Betting Explained

Rugby point spread betting is when you predict who will win a match by a specific margin. Point spreads are bets that say a team has to win by a certain number of points for them to win. This means an underdog team can lose, but the bet would still win because they lost by a specific amount of points.

Allowing bets like this makes things more interesting because there are more bets on both teams. Point spreads add excitement to each rugby match due to the uncertainty.

Point Spread Example

For this example, we discuss what a typical rugby point spread bet is; this should give you a better idea of what to expect from a point spread bet. We’ll say Gold Coast Suns are the favourite to win. They’ll have a – 6.5 next to their name; this means they must win by seven or more points for any bets for them to win. The other team playing against them is the underdog, so they receive 6.5 points. With a bet on the underdog, you’ll win if they win the game or if they lose by less than six points.

Sports Spread Betting vs Fixed Odds Betting

In a fixed-odds bet, you’re predicting whether a team will win or lose. You’re betting on an outcome. If that outcome comes true, you win, and if it doesn’t, you lose. The odds stay the same no matter what. But for spread betting, the amount you win or lose depends on how correct your predictions are.

Criteria In-Play Betting* Live Streaming
The need for accuracy in predictions Low High
Average payouts Higher Lower
Potential losses per bet Higher Lower

Popular Spread Betting Markets

There are many sports that have spread betting, and there are hundreds of markets for each sport. Some of the most popular sports you can bet on are rugby, Aussie rules, soccer, hockey, and horse racing. These are some of the most popular spread betting markets:

  • Supremacy: You’re betting on the goals difference between the teams.
  • Total Goals: As the name suggests, you’re betting on the total goals in the game.
  • Shirt Numbers: This is when you bet on the total sum of the shirt numbers of all the players who scored during the game.
  • Total Corners: You’re betting on the total number of corners.
  • Bookings: In this market, you’re predicting the total number of bookings points in a match.

u can bet on how many goals an individual player makes. In this type of betting, you can find whatever it is that you want to bet on.

No matter what you choose to bet on, it’s important to use a site that has good odds. PointsBet has just that, competitive odds that are higher than most other sites.

Sports Spread Betting Tips

As with any other form of gambling, there are some sports spread betting tips you can follow to make your experience more enjoyable:

  • Tip 1: Take your time to research the market to know what you are getting into before getting involved and risking actual cash.
  • Tip 2: Don’t bet too much: as we mentioned earlier, you can lose a lot more than your stake when making this type of bet.
  • Tip 3: Start small and get comfortable with this type of betting before you start making big bets.
  • Tip 4: If it’s available to you, use loss limits to prevent you from losing so much.
  • Tip 5: Pick a niche, find a market you like, and learn about it, so you can get better at making predictions.

What Is Spread Betting and How Is it Different From Sports Spread Betting?

When it comes to finances, spread betting is leveraged trading. These are geared trades that give you more opportunities to buy with a greater chance for returns. You’re given a level of flexibility that allows you to access many different markets from one account. Just like sports spread betting, with financial spreads, you don’t own any of the shares—you’re simply predicting if a share price will go up or down.

Final Thoughts

Sports spread betting is growing in popularity, but many people still avoid it. This could be because they don’t understand how it works or because they don’t want to risk possible losses. If you’ve been avoiding this type of betting, but now you want to get into it, this article has hopefully helped to educate you.

Even though spread betting has the potential to lose substantial amounts of money, you can also win just as much. You can also set up loss limits to help put your mind and wallet at ease. The more you play in a specific market, the better you’ll get at making predictions.

With PointsBet’s quick growth from offering sports spread betting, generous welcome bonuses, and thorough training guides, it’s a great time to try your hand at this type of betting.

Wide Choice of Sports Spread Betting Markets

09/06/21

Wide Choice of Sports Spread Betting Markets

  • Focus on spread betting
  • Helpful customer service
  • Straightforward user interface
9.7
5 Stars
NO CODE REQUIRED
Play Now
Learn More
0
T&Cs apply

Sports Spread Betting FAQs

What Is Spread Betting?

Sports spread betting is when you place a bet on the outcome of a certain sporting event. In this type of bet, the more accurate your prediction is, the more money you can win. On the other hand, the less accurate your prediction is, the more you can lose.

What Is a Spread in Sports Betting?

The spread refers to the betting line or odds used to determine the parameters of the bet you're making. This can be the underdog, the favourite, or even the total sum of numbers on the goalscorers’ shirts.

What's the Difference Between Fixed-Odds Bets and Spread Bets?

In a fixed-odds bet, you're predicting whether a team will win or lose. You're betting on an outcome; if that outcome comes true, you win, and if it doesn't, you lose. The odds stay the same no matter what. But for spread betting, the amount you win or lose depends on how correct your predictions are.

What Are the Best Sites for Spread Betting in Australia?

The only website that offers sports spread betting in Australia is PointsBet. Once you sign-up for this site, you’ll be eligible for generous bonuses, promotions, and many other features to help make your experience enjoyable.

Can you Make Sports Spread Bets on Football?

Yes, football is one of the most popular sports to make this type of bet on. There are hundreds of markets you can choose from, so you can find whatever it is that you're looking for.

Jack Schiffko

Jack has extensive experience in the iGaming industry. After obtaining a degree in History he started his career working as a content manager for an online poker room. For the past six years Jack is an independent writer covering iGaming topics such as sports, bingo and casino news. He regularly posts iGaming news and reviews on sites such as NewBingoSites or on CasinoReviews. In his free time Jack is a decent poker player who plays mostly PLO cash games.