Cricket spread betting
How cricket spread betting works
A spread bet is a bet on a number: how many runs a side makes, how many a batter scores, how many sixes are hit. The firm quotes a range, such as 310–320 for England’s first innings. If you think England will make more, you buy at 320. If you think they will make fewer, you sell at 310. You pick a stake per run, and the bet settles on the final figure, the make-up: you win your stake for every run it lands beyond your price, and lose it for every run it falls short.
So how right or wrong you are decides how much you win or lose. A fixed-odds bet on over 315.5 runs pays the same whether England make 320 or 400; a spread bet pays far more on 400.
| Bet | Makes 360 | Makes 280 |
|---|---|---|
| Buy at 320 | +£80 | −£80 |
| Sell at 310 | −£100 | +£60 |
The firm’s estimate sits in the middle of the two prices, and the gap between them is its margin: a buyer pays five runs over the middle of a 10-run spread, and a seller gives up five under it. Quotes on a batter’s runs are narrower, such as 37–43.
Closing a bet early
Quotes move after every ball, and you can close a bet at any point by taking the other side at the current price. Buy England at 320, watch them reach 150 without loss, and the quote might be 355–365. Selling at 355 closes the bet with 35 runs of profit, £70 at £2 a run, whatever England go on to make.
Cricket spread betting markets
| Market | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Team runs | A side’s runs in an innings, or in the first 6 or 15 overs, or in a session of a Test. |
| Batter runs | A batter’s runs in an innings, a match or a series. A duck makes up at 0. |
| Fall of next wicket | The side’s score when the next wicket falls. |
| Supremacy | The winning margin: a point for each run a side wins by, and 10 for each wicket. |
| Match sixes and fours | Boundaries hit in the match, or one side’s total multiplied by the other’s (multi-sixes). |
| Performance | Points for a player’s runs, wickets, catches and stumpings, on a scale each firm sets. |
| 25:10 index | A Test’s result: 25 points to the winner, 10 each for a draw, 0 to the loser. |
| Series and tournaments | Runs or wickets over a series, fifties and hundreds scored, or points for how far a side goes. |
Team runs and batter runs are the biggest markets. Supremacy turns the result into a number: with India quoted at 10–20 over England, a £4 buy at 20 wins £160 if India win by 60 runs, and loses £120 if England win by a wicket, a make-up of −10.
Performance markets add up a player’s match on a points scale. On one firm’s one-day scale of a point a run, 20 a wicket and 10 a catch, a batter who makes 30, takes two wickets and holds a catch scores 80.
How much you can win or lose
Runs markets swing hard. IPL first innings in 2025 and 2026 averaged 194, but six in ten finished more than 20 runs away from it and nearly one in four more than 40, from 75 at the bottom to 286 at the top. At £2 a run, a 40-run miss is £80.
Batter runs are lopsided. Top-three batters in men’s Tests since 2021 averaged 32 runs an innings, but the middle innings was 18, and 66% finished below 32. A fair quote is the average, so selling a batter wins most bets by a little and loses a few by a lot: sell at 32 and a duck pays 32 times the stake, while a 150 costs 118 times it.
- 34%0–9
- 18%10–19
- 12%20–29
- 15%30–49
- 15%50–99
- 6%100 or more
The stake is per run, not the most you can lose. Sell a side’s runs and there is no ceiling on the loss; buy them and the most you can lose is the price times the stake, if they make nothing. Stop losses and limited-risk accounts cap how much each bet can lose, usually with a cap on the win to match.
Spread betting or fixed odds?
| Spread bet | Fixed-odds over/under | |
|---|---|---|
| You win | The stake for every run beyond your price | The stake times the odds |
| You lose | The stake for every run short of it, with no cap | The stake |
| Margin | The gap between the buy and sell prices | Built into the odds on each side of the line |
A spread bet pays on a view of how far a number goes: a batter in form on a flat pitch, a ground where sixes rain down. A fixed-odds bet pays on which side of a line it finishes, and never costs more than the stake.
Cricket spread betting FAQ
What is spread betting in cricket?
A bet on a number in a match, such as a side’s runs, a batter’s score or the sixes hit. The firm quotes a range, the spread; you buy at the top of it if you think the number will be higher, or sell at the bottom if you think it will be lower. You win or lose your stake for every run the result lands beyond your price.
What do buy and sell mean in spread betting?
Buying is betting the number will finish above the higher of the two prices; selling is betting it will finish below the lower one. Some firms call them going high and going low. With a quote of 310–320 on a side’s runs, you buy at 320 or sell at 310.
What is the make-up in spread betting?
The final figure a market settles on: the runs the side made, the batter’s score, the sixes hit. A buy wins the make-up minus the buy price times the stake, and a sell wins the sell price minus the make-up times the stake. A negative answer is the loss.
Can you lose more than your stake when spread betting?
Yes. The stake is per run, not the most you can lose, so a bet goes on costing money for every run the result moves against you. Sell a side’s runs at 160 for £2 a run and a total of 230 costs £140. IPL first innings in 2025 and 2026 ran from 75 to 286.
What is a stop loss in spread betting?
A limit on how much a bet can lose. Firms offer stop losses on single bets and limited-risk accounts that cap the loss on every bet, usually at the cost of a cap on the win as well. A stop loss is only guaranteed where the firm agrees that it is; otherwise a fast-moving price can close the bet beyond it.
Is spread betting legal in the UK?
Yes, for anyone 18 or over. The firms that offer sports spread bets are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Is spread betting tax free?
In the UK, yes. Winnings from spread bets are not taxed, like any betting winnings, and losses can’t be set against other income.
What is the minimum stake for a spread bet?
It varies by firm and market, and on many markets it is as little as 1p a point. A low stake per run is the way to learn how much a market moves before betting bigger.
What is supremacy in cricket spread betting?
A bet on the margin of victory. It counts a point for each run a side wins by and 10 for each wicket, and a defeat counts as a negative make-up. Buy a side’s supremacy at 20 for £4 and a 60-run win pays £160; a one-wicket defeat makes up at −10 and costs £120.
What is the 25:10 index in cricket?
A spread on a Test result. The winner scores 25, the loser 0, and a draw gives each side 10. A side quoted at 15–16 is priced between a draw and a win, and buying it at 16 wins 9 times the stake if they win, or loses 6 times it on a draw and 16 times it on a defeat.
What happens to spread bets if rain shortens a cricket match?
Markets already decided stand. For the rest, each firm sets how many overs must be bowled for a bet to stand and how a match decided by DLS settles, and bets that fall short of it are void, with the stake returned. The rules vary by firm, so check its cricket rules before you bet. Rain rules in cricket betting
Can you spread bet in-play on cricket?
Yes. The firms update their quotes after every ball, and you can open a bet, add to one or close one at the current price at any point in the match.
How do you close a spread bet early?
Take the other side at the current price. If you bought a side’s runs at 320 and the quote is now 355–365, selling at 355 locks in 35 runs of profit, whatever the side goes on to make. Closing a losing bet works the same way and fixes the loss.
What is a fair spread on a batter’s runs?
The batter’s average score, since a spread bet pays on every run. But most innings finish below the average and a few far above it: top-three batters in men’s Tests since 2021 averaged 32 runs an innings, yet the middle innings was 18 and 66% finished below 32. Selling a batter wins more often than it loses, and loses heavily on a big score.
Is sports spread betting the same as financial spread betting?
It works the same way, on a different number. Financial spread betting is on share prices, indices and currencies, a stake per point of movement, with the same exposure to losses beyond the stake. Some firms offer both.
Is the spread in American sports betting the same thing?
No. In the US, the spread is a handicap at fixed odds: a side must win by more than the line, and the bet wins or loses a set amount. In a spread bet the amount depends on how far the result lands from your price. Handicap betting explained
How can you work out a price for a side’s runs?
Start from what the ground usually gives up and adjust for the two sides and the conditions. Each of our match previews gives a par score for the ground and a projected first innings for each side batting first. Upcoming previews
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