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Can you really bet on chess?
Yes, at least in England, where anyone can lay a wager on just about
anything. For other countries, you'll need to consult your local and national
laws. We'll be noting the odds for major events, purely as a matter of
information, on our home page, just as newspapers quote the Las Vegas line on
traditional sporting events.--Ed.
Chris Duncan explains how it works.
Betting on chess.
There is a new company called
www.betsson.com offering betting on all major chess tournaments and
matches. Betsson.com is a betting exchange as opposed to a traditional
bookmaker, this means you are betting against other people rather than a
bookmaker.
Main advantages of using a betting exchange
- Bet LIVE on chess events while they
are in progress
- Better odds than the traditional bookmakers
- Ask for your own odds or be the bookmaker
- Sell matched bets, thereby taking profit before an event
has finished
At the moment
www.betsson.com are taking bets on the chess Olympiad and will be taking
bets on the Kasparov v Junior match later in the year. At the start of the
Olympiad, Russia (the heavy favourites) were quoted at 1.6 in decimal odds.
Decimal odds
Decimal odds are the European way of
quoting odds, but they are very easy to understand. For example if you bet on
Russia to win the Olympiad at 1.6 for 100 Euro ($) then you would receive back
160 Euros ($), making a net win of 60 Euros ($). USA were quoted at odds of 40,
if you bet 100 Euro ($) then you would receive back 4,000 Euro ($), giving you a
net win of 3,900 Euros ($). The simple equation to work out winnings in decimal
odds is:-
Amount Won = stake x decimal odds –
stake
For example with Russia :- Amount won =
100 Euro x 1.6 – 100 Euro = 60 Euro
What is a Betting Exchange
With a Betting Exchange you bet against other punters, not against a bookmaker.
This means you get better odds.
You can bet traditionally
or YOU can be the bookmaker.
You can choose to be either a bookmaker (offering odds on an event
for others to bet on), or to bet as an ordinary punter (you place bets on an
event where others have offered the odds). The common terminology is "lay" and
"back" (or, to make it easier: "sell" and "back"). If you decide to act like a
bookmaker, you will "lay" an offer out on the bet exchange for others to bet on.
This is the way bookies normally do it. They "lay" bets out on their websites,
for others to bet on (or "back").
Back
This is the traditional way of placing a bet. You want that
outcome to happen. Example : You BACK Kasparov at 2.10 for 100 Euro. This means:
you want Kasparov to win the game. Your total return if Kasparov wins, is 210
Euro (odds x stake). If Kasparov does not win (draw or the loss) your loss is
100 Euro (your stake).
Lay
This is the opposite of BACK. This is what bookmakers traditionally do.
Example : You lay Kasparov at 2.20 for 100 Euro. This means: you don't want
Kasparov to win the game. Your total return if this happens (Kasparov loses or
draws) is 100 Euro (the stake). If Kasparov wins your loss is 120 Euro. (odds x
stake) - stake.
How does it work?
If you place a bet with a bookmaker you are a passive customer. You can
not say to the bookie: "I want better odds on this event before I choose to bet
on it !". The bookmaker offers his odds, and it's up to you whether to bet on it
or not. In a betting exchange, much of the same is going on. People act as
bookmakers, present their odds, and you can choose whether to accept it or not.
Betting exchanges have software which compares the existing "lays" to the
existing "backs", and automatically matches the orders. For those of you
familiar with stock exchanges (backing and selling stocks), there is a
similarity here, as there are numerous "lay-orders" and also numerous
"back-orders" in the system, waiting to be matched. The main difference between
ordinary betting and a betting exchange, is that you can place orders, which
means that you can enter your wishes into the bet exchange's database, and when
a matching offer has been found, your bet will be made. Example: You want to bet
on Kasparov winning, but the only odds on offer are 1.5 and 1.45. You want at
least 1.6 before you consider betting 100 Euro on Kasparov. Therefore you enter
your wish in to the database (wanted odds and the stake you want to bet), and if
someone later has "layed" an offer which matches your wish, then the bet will be
carried out. The system works the same way for those who want to "lay" bets (act
like bookmakers). You can for instance lay Kasparov at 1.65 for 100 Euro, which
is the same as saying " I don't think Kasparov will win this match. I offer odds
of 1.65 on Kasparov, and I accept a maximum of 100 Euro on this match. If
Kasparov wins, I will pay you 1.65 times your stake, If Kasparov loses or draws,
I will win your stake.
Conclusion
If you're used to the usual way of betting, it may take some time to get
acclimatized to this form of betting, where you can choose your own odds, and
present your own odds. However, once you're familiar with this form of betting,
you will most definitively like it a lot, and there is even a very good chance
you're making easier money this way, than by ordinary betting (where you need to
fight the profit margins of the professional bookmakers).
Good Luck!
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