What is gambling/betting?
Gamble or gambling:
- to play a game for money or property
- to bet on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest.
- Taking a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit.
- To engage in reckless or hazardous behaviour
Bet or betting:
- the money risked on a gamble
- the act of gambling
- stake on an outcome of an issue
- a person, thing, or action likely to bring about the desired result
- Pre-occupied with the pursuit of pleasure and especially games of chance.
Types of gambling or betting:
While almost any game or situation can be gambled upon, there are general gambling or betting games/races.
Casino games: Casino’s offer many kinds of games. Some are played on a table and others on machines. The term “table game” is used to differentiate games such as blackjack, craps and roulette that are played on a table and operated by one or more live dealers, as opposed to games played on a mechanical device like a video slot machine where everything happens automatically. Online casinos are also very popular and offer the same games but obviously all automated.
Fixed-odds betting: Fixed-odds betting and Pari-mutuel betting (seen bellow) frequently occur at many types of sporting events, and in addition, many bookmakers offer fixed odds on a number of non-sports related outcomes. This can include anything from who will win the next political election to who will win a televised competition like Survivor.
Pari-mutuel betting: One of the most widespread forms of gambling involves betting on horse or greyhound racing. Wagering may take place through pari-mutuel pools, or bookmakers. Pari-mutuel wagers pay off at prices determined by support in the wagering pools, while bookmakers pay off either at the odds offered at the time of accepting the bet; or the norm offered by track bookmakers at the start of the race.
Sports Betting: Aside from simple wagers such as betting a friend that one’s favourite team will win its division or will win a specific game or race, sports betting are commonly performed through a bookmaker or through various online Internet outlets. Betting on sport and the outcome of a game or race is very common all over the world. From football matches to Formula 1 races, millions of fans take part in this form of betting.
Arbitrage betting: Arbitrage betting is in theory a risk-free betting system in which every outcome of an event is bet upon so that a profit will be made by the bettor regardless of the outcome. By placing one bet per each outcome with different betting companies, the bettor can make a profit. As long as different Bookmakers are used for arbitrage betting the Bookmakers do not have a problem with this.
Other types of betting include betting that a statement is true or false, or that a specified event will happen (“back bet”) or will not happen (“lay bet”) within a specified time. For example, a certain team will score a goal in the first half of the game or a certain team will NOT score a goal in the first half of the game.
Betting Exchanges: Betting exchanges allow bettors to both backs and lay at odds of their choice. A bettor may want to back a team or lay a team. For example, if someone thinks Team A will win a competition, he may wish to back that selection. A bookmaker offering the punter that bet would be laying that selection. The two parties will agree on the backer’s stake and the odds.
If the team wins, the layer will pay the backer the winnings based on the odds agreed. As every bet transacted requires a backer and a layer, and the betting exchange is not a party to the bets transacted on it, any betting exchange requires both backers and layers. This difference is debatable however as a layer is simply backing that an event will not happen, which in turn means he is betting that the opposite will happen. For example, laying that a specific team WILL NOT win, you are basically betting that the other team WILL win.
Systems exist where techniques have been devised to beat the type of betting/gambling methods you choose to engage in. Many of these “systems” get sold over the internet by the author to make a quick profit. These systems are not all trustworthy and many users spend money on these systems hoping to make profits from following them. However, there are those that are smart and original and will help you turn a profit if you use them.
