释义 |
spread betting, n. Brit. Gambling. Brit. |ˈsprɛd ˌbɛtɪŋ|, U.S. |ˈsprɛd ˌbɛdɪŋ| [‹ spread n. + betting n.1 Compare slightly later spread bet n.] A form of betting in which the bookmaker predicts a range of likely outcomes for (an aspect of) a sporting fixture or other event, and the better, placing a stake on a higher or lower result, wins or loses a multiple of that stake, calculated on how accurate this prediction is in relation to that quoted by the bookmaker. Also in extended use in financial trading, of predicted price movements over a specified period of time. Cf. point spread n. at point n.1 Compounds 2.
[1960N.Y. Times 12 Oct. 50/7 Raper's firm goes in for point-spread betting, the kind most likely to be involved in attempts to fix matches.] 1992Daily Tel. 1 Apr. 25/2 Sporting Index is a new and well-connected firm of bookmakers, set up to concentrate on what is called spread-betting. If you want to bet on the number of fences which a horse..will clear at Aintree, you can buy or sell his chances as if he were a share. Buyers start to make money once he has jumped 23 fences, sellers hope he will jump fewer than 21. 1995Guardian 15 Mar. i. 3/7 Spread betting, the latest craze in bookmaking, has introduced the volatility of the stock market into high-rolling wagers on football matches. 1999H. Redknapp & D. McGovern 'Arry (new ed.) x. 135 Spread betting is perhaps the fastest-growing form of punting in Britain and at the time a popular spread market was betting on the time of the first throw-in in Premiership matches. For example, the spread bookies would estimate the time of the first throw-in at, say, 65–80 seconds, and punters had to bet whether it would be sooner or later than that. If they ‘sold’ (that is, bet on an earlier throw-in) at 65 seconds and the first throw was timed at five seconds, then they would win 60 times their stake. 2001Observer 15 Apr. (Business section) 8/5 One of the reasons spread betting is popular in the City is that it allows gamblers to bet both up and down. So, if punters think the Nasdaq is due for another slide south, they can back that hunch. |