Glossary of Key Sports Betting Terms and Slang Words

Sportsbook features its own special terms that have been formed over many years. To figure out the specific nature of sports betting, let’s examine the main notions.

Arbitrage (arbitrage betting) – a special betting strategy when players will make a profit for sure. It means wagering on the opposite outcome of a match and benefiting anyway.

American odds – an indicator of the potential betting income; it is aimed at winning 100 and designated by signs “+” or “-”. Pluses mean favorites, while minuses mean outsiders. A figure corresponds to a potential profit (or a loss) that players will face when betting 100 dollars.

Underdog – a team or an individual athlete, which odds of winning are pretty low according to analysts or betting shops.

Bettor – a person who bets on sports in order to win.

British (UK) odds – an indicator written in the form of the fractional number. The first figure accounts for an income received by a player in case of winning, and the second one implies the sum that should be placed for this.

Bonus – a type of encouragement that betting providers offer to players in order to enhance their loyalty and acquire new customers. To get a bonus, one should perform certain actions specified by the betting shop.

Sure bet – a successful result of a match where players or analysts are hundred-per-cent sure. The slang word means a guaranteed income from the bet on such an event.

Refund bet – a situation when players can get back the placed amount of money in the initial form (without losses or profits).

Handicap – the advantage of one of the teams involved in the match. The term originates from Asian betting shops. In this case, betting operators add a certain number of points to the result.

Deposit – the sum that bettors put into their personal accounts in betting shops.

Double action is a wager, which outcome directly depends on the success of the previous one.

European odds – one of the most popular CIS options of defining the odds of victory and the potential winning. It is written in the form of decimal numbers where the odds are directly proportional to the potential result.

Insider – a person that holds unofficial information affecting the event outcome (about a team, players, etc.).

Comeback – an unexpected and unpredictable victory of the team, which neither bettors no analysts expect.

Capper – a person with a certain experience and analytical skills who can share his/her forecasts both on a paid basis and free of charge.

Square – a casual gambler. Someone who does not treat betting as a primary income.

Kelly Criterion – a widely accepted method of wager calculation. Supposedly, its sum is proportional to the obvious advantage of the team.

Ludomania – a pathologic interest in betting, a kind of gambling addiction. People tend to place frequent and impulsive bets, resulting in deposit losses.

Losing streak – several losing bets in a row, starting from three.

Live bets – bets placed directly during the match. It is appropriate to experienced players who rapidly calculate odds and make a deliberate choice depending on the event outcome.

Margin – a fee that betting shops receive in any outcome of the game.

Overbetting – extremely high bets (30% of the total pot).

Runner – a player who bets on sports in favor of the other person (not in its individual capacity).

Taking the points – betting on the underdog and receiving the advantage of the positive Point Spread.

Public bet – the most popular wager. It is generally used by beginning bettors, as the public bet is not based on analytical data and causes doubts among experienced players.

Profit – a net income obtained by bettors. To calculate the profit, one should subtract the sum of the bet from the winning.

Referral – a player who creates the account on the betting website by following the link from the other bettor.

Referral system – a special program of betting shops where players can earn by inviting others to register.

Betting line – the number of outcomes available as part of one sports event.

Bracket – a scheme of playoffs or elimination tournaments used in sports.

Skip – an intentional skip of the bet because the results are too difficult to predict.

Trend – a certain regularity concerning the tournament, team, player, or even sports in general.

Flat betting – a special strategy when the betting sums are similar regardless of odds.