Gambling Wiki – Glossary of Betting Terms (A-Z) + PDF

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Author Katerina Gadzheva

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Updated:

9 July 2024

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Welcome to the online betting Wiki – our encyclopedia of punting with a list of gambling terms included. This page will allow you to quickly find the best articles concerning sports betting & casino tips, strategies, and systems. In addition to access to the Betting Guide for beginners and the Betting Strategies for pro punters, you can also read some of the most common betting terms out there. Our online encyclopedia Wiki will meet the demand of both professional and recreational players.

Betting Terms

Here is a detailed glossary of betting and casino terms (A-Z). Find out the meaning of Ante-Post, Martingale system and many more. All gambling terms are in alphabetical order!

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A

• Accumulator – A bet combining several selections in one betslip. All legs must win for the bet to win.
• Action – Any single type of bet.
• American odds – Odds with +240 or -310 format also known as moneyline odds.
• Ante-post – A bet used in horse racing to define a wager placed before the start of the race.
• Arbitrage betting – This is a strategy that guarantees a sure profit. You monitor the odds at more than two online bookies worldwide and place your money on all outcomes for the win. Some sites ban players who use arbitrage bets.
• Asian handicap – A type of market popular in the Far East which lets one team get a head start by differing amount prior to the start of the games.

B

• Back a bet – This is a type of bet in matched betting or sports betting exchange where you stake backing the prediction of another player.
• Banker – This is a selection that gives you better winning odds. It is used in combination bets.
• Bankroll – All the money you stake with are your bankroll.
• Bar – It is used for the highest possible price of a market in horse racing.
• Betslip – The name of your virtual slip that helps you place wagers.
• Betting exchange – These also go by the name sports betting exchanges and refer to the platform that allows punters match other punters’ bets while the bookie only gets a small commission.
• Bookmaker – A betting company which owns a license allowing it to take wagers for gambling.

C

• Canadian bet – This is a system bet with 26 legs on 5 selections, also known as Super Yankee.
• Cashback – A bonus that will refund part of your losses incurred while betting.
• Cashout – This is a special feature that allows you to close an active bet before the end of the match.
• Coefficient – Another name for odds.
• Combi bet – A bet combining several selections. All need to win for the bet to win as well.

D

• D’alembert system – One of the many mathematically-based betting systems that guarantee a win if you up your stake by one unit every time you place a new wager.
• Decimal odds – These odds are in the form of decimal fractions like 1.50 or 2.10 and are most common in Europe.
• Double Bet – An accumulator with only two legs.
• Draw – A match ending without a winner since nobody scored or the teams scored the same amount of points.
• Draw no bet – A market which will reward you if your team wins, but will give you back the stake if the match ends at a draw.
• Dutching – When you bet on several of the possible winners in a system bet so as to gain a sure profit.

E

• Edge – This is another term for advantage, especially in gambling. The bookmakers usually have the edge.
• Edit Bet – A special feature allowing you to add, change or delete selections from your active bets.
• European handicap – A type of market that gives the edge to one team while the chances for draw remain the same.
• Evens – A type of bet that pays out one unit for every unit bet plus the original stake.
• Exotic wager – More niche sports or markets not so popular as football, for instance.

F

• Fixed odds – Predetermined or very probable results, especially in soccer, fixed odds are something most punters look for.
• Free bet – Some of the betting sites offer free bets to punters as a bonus. You make a bet using the free money as your stake.
• Fractional odds – Those are UK odds in the form of fractions like 1/4.

G

• Gameplay – The style and performance of a team or player.

H

• Hedging – When you place a bet that is the complete opposite of your initial bet.
• Heinz – A system of 57 legs and 6 selections.

I

• Indo odds – Odds that show how much money you have to risk to win 1 unit. Evens can be shown with odds 1.00.
• In-Play – A bet placed while the match is live.

J

• Joint Favourite – When two selections share the favourites (shortest priced) position, they are referred to with this term.

K

• Kelly Criterion – A special math formula that can determine the best stake to bet in a given betting situation.

L

• Lay – To lay a bet in a sports betting exchange is the opposite of Back. You bet against the prediction of another player.
• Leg – A selection in a combination bet.
• Line – All odds open for betting for a specific sports event.
• Live – It can refer to odds, sports bets or casino and mean you can watch them live.
• Livestream – Videos streaming live on the platform of the online casinos or the bookmakers’ sportsbooks.
• Lock – A sure win.
• Lucky 15 – A system with 15 legs and 4 selections in total.

M

• Maximum stake – The max bet you can place on a given betting site. Some professional bookmakers target high rollers so they have no max-stake requirement in place.
• Malay odds – This odd’s format is with the numbers between 1 and -1. If the number is positive, it shows how much you will win for every unit you have staked. If the number is negative, it shows how much you need to stake to win a unit.
• Margin – This is a type of wager showing all possible outcomes the bookmakers’ price in the margin point system.
• Martingale – Another math-based system saying that if you double your stake every time you lose, eventually you will come out winning.
• Matchbet – A type of bet combining a double of which team is going to win and both teams to score.
• Multi bet – Another name for combi or combination bet that has more than two legs.
• Moneyline – You bet that one team will win the match.
• Monkey – A term used by the best bookmakers and referring to a bet of 500 EUR.

N

• Nap – A slang meaning the best wager for the day.

O

• Outsider – Another term for underdog or the opposite of favourite. This is the team, player or animal with least chances of winning.
• Ormond – Yet another system based on mathematics very similar to Martingale but instead of just doubling your stake when losing, you also add a fixed sum to it.
• Over/Under – A type of market allowing you to bet that the match will finish with over or under a certain number of goals.

P

• Parley – A multi bet or an Acca bet with at least two legs.
• Patent – A system with 7 legs and 3 selections.
• Pleaser – A parlay that combines handicap bets.
• Point spread – An equalizer that allows bookmakers to spread the points for a game allowing teams to have equal chance of winning.
• Progressive jackpot – A jackpot that rises with every bet placed on it.
• Punter – A slang term for a bettor or a gambler.

Q

• Qualifying bet – When bookmakers promote bonus code offers they usually set a qualifying bet that will unlock the reward.

R

• Round Robin – A type of parlay bet with only two selections.
• Runner – A person betting on another person’s behalf.

S

• Scalping – A betting exchange strategy where you first back a bet and then wait for the odds to change to lay the bet for a sure win.
• Scout – A punter who shops around for odds in search of value bets.
• Selection – Another name for the legs in an accumulator bet.
• Single bet – A bet with only one selection.
• Spread – Also known as point spread, this is another term for handicap.
• Special bets – Wagers on special events in the politics, show business and so on.
• Stake – The amount you wager on a bet.
• Stop loss – A bet that puts an end to a losing streak of bets.
• System – A bet with three or more selections that might grant you a win even when one selection loses.

T

• Teaser – A type of parley on the goals scored in a match.
• Tic-tac – A sing language used by bookies on racing events.
• Tip – A prediction for the outcome of the game.
• Tipster – A person making predictions or tips.
• Tricast – A term used in horse racing and it means a bet for the first, second and third horse to cross the finish line.

U

• Underdog – Or an outsider is the team or player with most unfavorable odds.

V

• Value bet – A bet with higher probability to win than reflected by the price of the market.
• Void bet – A nullified or canceled bet that doesn’t count.

W

• Wager – Just another word for bet or punt.
• Wire-to-Wire – A bet that the team will lead at all quarters of the game.
• Wise guy – Pro gamblers in the top 5% that profit from sports betting.

X

• 1X2 – If 1 is a bet for team A to win and 2 is for team B to win then X stands for a draw.

Y

• Yankee – A system bet of 11 legs and 4 selections.

Z

• Zero Risk – A risk-free bet with no risk, usually as part of a bonus.

FAQs about Betting Terms