Online Betting Glossary of Terms
Online Betting Glossary of Terms

An online glossary of some of the most common terms used in sports betting to help those who are new to the industry and seeking guidance.
Like many industries the Online Betting has its own terminology which, for the uninitiated or those new to the practice can be confusing. To help bring some clarification, here are some of the more common terms explained.
AET (After Extra Time): This expression relates to football and indicates that a match, invariably in a cup competition, has gone to 30 minutes’ extra time after the scores between the two sides was level on aggregate after the normal 90 minutes was played.
Bankroll: The bankroll is the amount of money that somebody has free to gamble. It is the amount of money that a player can set aside from their everyday budget and risk losing, without it having any serious impact on their overall financial circumstances or quality of life.
Betting Exchange: A betting exchange is an online marketplace where traders are placing bets against other sports fans, rather than a bookmaker, as is traditionally the case. They generally offer better odds – up to 20% more – than normal bookmakers.
Both Teams to Score: Often abbreviated by online bookmakers to BTTS, this is a bet unique to football. It is a wager that both teams in a match will score. It is very popular because you are not betting on the outcome of a match itself, and a bet may still succeed even if one team is beaten heavily, provided that they at least find the opponent’s net.
Cash Out: Cash Out is the option to get your money back from the bookmaker before the event on which you have bet is finished. The amount on offer will depend on the likely outcome of a match. Bookmakers use it as a way of limiting their exposure to pay-outs, whilst gamblers are able to realise profits early, albeit at a reduced level, and use the money to reinvest.
First Scorer: Another bet that is commonly employed in football – although it can also be found in sports like rugby and hockey – this is a wager on the first player from either side to score in a match.
Free Bet: As with welcome bonuses, free bets are a way online bookmakers use to attract new customers. The player is effectively staking a fictional amount of money on a sporting event but, if the bet succeeds, there will usually be terms and conditions restricting how the funds can be withdrawn from an online account.
Handicap: It is used by bookmakers as a way of “evening” the odds between two players by giving the favourite a handicap that they need to overcome before a bet can be successful, usually in the form of the number of games, sets or goals. The bet can only be won if the handicap is overcome.
Lay/Back: if you lay a bet you are effectively wagering that something will not occur, it is the opposite of backing an outcome. For example, Rafael Nadal will start favourite to win the French Open, so many people will back him to win. However, others may see value in laying the bet; in other words betting that anybody other than him will win.
Live Betting: Live Betting – or In-Play Betting – is the practice of wagering a bet on a sporting event whilst it is actually in progress. It has been enabled by the widespread implementation of the internet.
Odds: Odds are the likelihood, expressed in numerical terms that an event will occur. They can be expressed either as fractions or decimals. Fractional odds are typically displayed in formats such as 13/1, 5/2, or 11/4; they show how much a player is likely to win when compared to their original stake.
By comparison, decimal odds show a player how much they are in line to win if a bet succeeds. Odds of 13, for example, mean that they will win €13 for a €1 stake, consisting of the original stake, plus €12 of winnings.
Overs and Unders: This is one of the most popular bets in sport, and involves a bet on the number of aggregate games, goals, points, etc. that a match will contain. The bookmaker will set a number (a line), and the punter must bet whether the total will exceed that number(Overs) or fall below it (Unders).
Parlay: Also commonly known as an accumulator, a parlay is a multiple wager that combines several bets in one. For the entire bet to succeed, each leg of the bet has to win in its own right. If even one leg fails, then the entire bet fails. This is a high risk, high return betting strategy not recommended for novices.
Pre-Match Betting: This is the traditional method of betting on a sports event, and involves placing a bet on a sporting event before it commences. Once the event starts the final odds are fixed and will not change – as opposed to Live Betting.
Prop-Bet: A Prop-Bet – or proposition bet – is a side bet made on the occurrence, or non-occurrence of an event – that does not directly impact on the final result. For example, first scorer is a prop-bet. It can also be used for unusual events such as the likelihood that a match will be interrupted by a dog running on the pitch.
Roll-Over: A roll-over is the amount of money that somebody needs to be before they are entitled to withdraw a welcome bonus or other betting promotion offered by a sportsbook or online bookmakers.
Simple bets and Combination Bets: A simple bet is a single bet on the outcome of a single event. It is the simplest bet of all that can be made. A combination bet involves two or more selections within one bet.
Stake: The stake is simply the amount that was initially bet on a sporting event. If a bet fails then the stake is lost; if it succeeds, the winner will receive a pay-out plus the return of their initial stake.
Sure betting: Sometimes known by the term arbitrage betting, sure betting is a way of making money by exploiting the odds offered by different bookmakers on the same event. It does not always succeed as there may be no market to be made, or the likely gains too marginal to be worth pursuing, but it can offer decent returns when the conditions are right. This is only suitable for expert gamblers who have access to the right software.
Tipster: A tipster is somebody who provides information on a sporting event, usually in exchange for money. They may either have special inside knowledge of an event or sport not available to the general public, or they have prepared detailed analysis and collated extensive statistical data.
Underdog: The underdog is a person or team in a sporting contest who is generally expected at the outset to lose. The term is often used in sports when a major seed in a tennis tournament comes up against a wildcard qualifier, or a lower division team in a football cup competition is drawn against one of the major teams in the country.
Value: Value is where an online gambler believes that the likelihood of a specific outcome occurring in a sporting event are better than the current odds currently suggest, and all they need to do is act to capitalise on the opportunity.
Wager: Similar to a stake, a wager is the amount bet on the outcome of a sporting event.
Welcome Bonus: To encourage new customers to sign-up, many online bookmakers offer welcome and sign-up bonuses on sporting events, where they may either be offered a free bet or allowed to stake on favourable terms. The small print should always be read carefully in such cases, as there may be restrictions such as minimum pay-out thresholds which are not overtly disclosed.
Yankee: A Yankee is a popular means of betting on horse racing, but also on football. It consists of 4 selections (outcomes) which are effectively split into 11 separate bets – six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold accumulator. The advantage of a Yankee over a Parlay bet is that even if one of the selections fails, the rest of the bet may still succeed.
Yield: The yield is the real profit (or loss) made on sports betting, and is regarded as the primary measure of betting efficiency. It is calculated using the following formula:
Yield = (the net gain/total amount wagered) * 100.