Beating the Bookies – Sporting Index
August 16, 2007admin No Comments »It just wasn’t cricket. Or at least, spread betting firm Sporting Index didn’t think so, less than a month after it launched its dedicated Irish website.
The site went live in time for the Cheltenham racing festival in March, but it was the Irish cricket team’s World Cup success and not the horses that helped one punter to burn the company.
A trader working in Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre bought Ireland’s total runs in the tournament at an opening spread of 585 at EUR10-a-run, meaning he was paid EUR10 for every run above that number.
By the end of the month, the spread had risen to 1,450, difference of 865, leaving him sitting on a tax-free profit of EUR8,650, thanks to Jeremy Bray and his team-mates.
The lucky, or shrewd, punter believed that the team would score more runs than 585. However, if he had decided that Ireland would not reach that number of runs, he could have sold at 580 for EUR10. As the difference was 870 at the point when the spread rose to 1,450, he would have lost EUR8,700 at that point.
Ian O’Sullivan, who manages Sporting Index’ Irish business, says so far, the punters are getting the upper hand (not a situation that ever lasts too long). The company has targeted hunting and football in a particular way, precisely because the goals and points scoring system makes them ideal for spread betting.
On the hurling and football fields, one customer landed EUR1,900 for a modest stake on a first round Leinster football clash. He then fought the number of goals in the Cork Waterford Munster hurling semi-final clash at 2.4 for EUR800. If there had been no goals, he would have lost EUR1,800, just one goal and he would have lost EUR1,000.
In the end, there were eight goals, leaving him with EUR44,800, or 800 times 5.6 (the difference between 8 and 2.4) in profits. It’s not all been one way though.
One customer fancied Kildare in the team’s All-Ireland Football qualifier clash with Louth two weekends ago, and bought the Lily Whites to win at 2.5 for EUR400. This means he believed Kildare would beat Louth by more than 2.5 points (Sporting Index uses decimals on some of its spreads, even though there is no such thing as 0.5 of a point).
In the end, Kildare lost by six points. The punter lost EUR3,400, 8.5 times the stake – that is 2.5 plus Louth’s winning margin of six points.
Spread Betting is gaining ground in Ireland to the point where one well-known Irish sports betting operation, Paddy Power has branched into it, although it is only offering the product on the financial markets.
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