Financial Betting - What is it and How to Do It?

Financial Betting Bookmakers

The lack of sporting fixtures has made me cast my eye around for alternative opportunities.

I already had some interest in financial markets and am ramping up my knowledge and understanding of these markets.

The following bookies currently offer some form of financial betting markets.

Betfair

Smarkets

Marathonbet

And luckily for all those with one of those accounts, you can in most cases use your same bookmaker account for both sports and financial betting.

I suppose this is a natural occurrence.

There has always been a correlation between sports betting and financial betting.

Some members of OLBG trade both sports and financial markets.

Financial betting sites do offer some markets that bettors may be interested in, with financial fixed odds on offer.

I have listed the best financial betting sites below, they are limited, but we may see more bookmakers offering financial betting odds over the coming months.  

For those of you new to betting please visit our guide to understanding bookmakers article.

Always use the sports betting maxim of “Never Chase Your Losses”.

Betfair Financials

Which financial markets can I bet on?

• Bitcoin
• UK Interest Rates
• USA Interest Rates
• Australian Interest Rates
• Finance

On Betfair you back (bet for) or lay (bet against) any outcome.

So, if you think  UK interest rates will be 0.00 and below above you back or if you think not you lay that selection. 

Market UK Interest Rates 

Smarkets Financials

Smarkets is a newer exchange that is bringing innovation to trading the markets. They are now offering similar markets to Betfair, especially in the financial arena.

Which financial markets can I bet on? 

• BitCoin
• China GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
• France Recession 2020
• Germany Recession in 2020
• Italy Recession 2020
• UK Recession
• UK Interest Rates
• USA Interest Rates
• The USA to go into recession in 2020.

The same principle as Betfair applies to Smarkets, you buy something if you think it is going to happen and sell if you do not.

In this case, it is whether the USA will go into a recession in 2020.

If you think YES IT WILL buy it at 1.38. If you think NO IT WILL NOT you will buy it at 4.5.

You can then trade those prices as the market ebbs and flows.

Marathon Bet Financials

Marathon Bet

Marathonbet has long been known for its outstanding football odds, another area where they specialise is financial currency betting.

Here you can place bets on currency fluctuations if you believe a price will be higher or lower than the current price if you bet it will be higher and it ends up higher at a set time you win the bet.

Which financial markets can I bet on? 

• AUD/JPY – Australian Dollars/Japanese Yen
• EUR/CHF – Euro/Swiss France 
• EUR/NZD – Euro/New Zealand Dollar
• EUR/USD – Euro/US Dollar

• Choose the currencies you wish to bet on from the list and choose a time frame for your bet. 
• Next, enter your stake. 
• Choose the line at which you want to bet, over or under, and click on the price to place your bet.
• You’ll then see your bet has been accepted. 

Example. EUR/USD (1-hour interval).

Say you made a bet that by the end of the hour the price of EUR to USD will be above a certain level. So now, if the prices are closed above that certain level your bet wins. If the prices are closed below your bet level, the bet loses.

And if the price is closed exactly at the level bet the payment will be made with a coefficient of 1.

You may concur that those countries with stronger currencies may see their currencies prove more robust.  

https://blog.marathonbet.co.uk/financials-betting-guide/

Other Forms of Financial Markets

In some cases, you can trade Shares, Indexes, and Commodities with bookmakers and spread betting firms.

A very simple explanation of those trading opportunities is:

Shares:  You buy shares in companies hoping that your research into that company will prove fruitful If the shares rise you can sell at a higher price and take the profit at the new price.

Indexes:  Here you trade the actual index predicting how as an Index it will perform, well-known indexes include the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250.

Commodities: Wheat, Rice Gold, Silver are examples of commodities that can be sold, and these can sometimes be seen as stable when the financial markets are going through a tough phase.  

Financial Betting Summary

I only advocate betting when you have all the facts at your fingertips and you have done your research, the above bookmakers of Betfair, Smarkets and Marathonbet cover both sports betting and financial markets.

You should read and gather as much information as possible before entering any financial markets and follow all the daily updates, it seems it is not going to be smooth sailing for quite a while.

For further reading on financial markets visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_betting

What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital cryptocurrency without administration. 

Payments are peer to peer without intermediaries (such as a bank). 

You can pay for certain goods and services from peers and organizations who accept this digital currency. 

Many bookmakers offer betting odds on the closing price of Bitcoin on a particular date as they would do on say Dollars or Euros. 

Ultimately the bitcoin price will rise and fall on how many users are attracted to the currency + the reliability of transactions. 

Manipulation of the bitcoin price has been highlighted as a concern by US government agencies. 

Contributor Information

Nigel has worked in the betting industry for the majority of his career, so when his preference is for Spread Betting sites we take note when he shares his thoughts.

Senior Content Editor

Nigel Skinner implements his betting prowess chiefly on betting exchanges and Spread betting companies. His preference is rooted in the extensive market offerings and dynamic trading alternatives these platforms present. His experience and insider knowledge, honed over years of serving traditional bookmakers, empowers him to identify the opportunities that spread betting bestows on betting strategy.

- Nigel Skinner, Blog content manager