Tour De France: Capturing The Imagination Of Spread Betters

The Tour de France is one of the most popular bicycle events in the world and is staged annually. Now in its 108th year, the course changes with each event, however one constant feature is that the finish line is in the French capital of Paris. Being such a popular race, it is a perfect opportunity for many to use a little extra cash on spread betting.

For the uninitiated, spread betting covers various forms of betting on an event’s outcome. Unlike fixed-odds betting, spread betting has the financial reward based on the bet’s accuracy. For example, a spread will be a range of outcomes and the punt is on whether the outcome will be above or beneath the spread. The spread betting UK scene has been growing rapidly in recent years, primarily due to the potential rewards being far greater than they are from fixed-odds betting.

Tour De France: Capturing The Imagination Of Spread Betters

That said, though, the losses can be slightly higher, too: whereas in fixed-odds gambling you can only lose as much as you put down, spread betting carries the risk of losing slightly more than the original wager. This makes it a riskier form of gambling, but it is precisely this element of danger that many find so appealing.

It was a mathematics teacher from Connecticut named Charles K McNeil who came up with the concept of spread betting when he became a Chicago bookmaker in the 1940s. The concept did not become popular in Britain until the 1980s and it is now particularly popular in football.

In such a sport the bookmaker may suggest that 10 or 11 throw-ins will take place in a match, and so the spread will be 10-11. More money will be won or lost depending on the gap between the spread and final outcome. So, if a gambler believes the number of throw-ins will be higher than the spread, they may buy a point for, say, £10. If there are eight throw-ins, the gambler will lose 11 minus eight, providing a gap of three between outcome and spread, which will be a £30 loss. On the other hand, if there are 15 throw-ins, the gambler will lose 15 minus 11, which would be £40. Thus there is potential for higher reward or loss, and so a gambler would be well advised to study the sport in question before placing a bet.

With regards to the Tour de France, then, spread betting would focus not only on who would cross the finish line first but would offer various other bets too, such as how long the winner would take to complete the race, while the gambler could predict how many minutes or hours either side of the spread he thinks it will actually take. Or perhaps, if there was a strong favourite, the bet could be on whether that favourite will beat the spread.

The Tour de France is a particularly interesting case when it comes to spread betting because of its duration. Unlike most sports that have a relatively short time for completion, the Tour de France takes place over three weeks and 2,000 miles, meaning all sorts of bets can be created. For example, spread betting could cover who will be ahead by a certain day or distance, who will be most consistent, the country most likely to perform well and so on. With up to 22 teams competing, there is even more scope for spread betting.

If you are interested in spread betting on the Tour de France then check out bookmakers for the spread. However, if you are still unsure of the rules then it is well worth having sports spread betting explained to you first.