Spread betting - Brett Arends

Predicting a big score in the match on Saturday? Buy total goals. Convinced a multimillion pound signing will prove a huge flop? Sell his performance. Fancy a local team to surprise everyone with a strong run in the League? Buy their championship points.

Today more than 100,000 people in the UK are turning their football knowledge into profit through spread betting, the fastest growing phenomenon in gambling worldwide. Unlike traditional fixed odds betting, the spreads allow punters to bet against teams as well as for them, to place and close bets during the match and even to make money on a game before a ball has been kicked.

Spread Betting - A Football Fan's Guide strips out the off-putting financial jargon and explains the system in clear English. Using vivid examples from top-class football, it takes you from the basics to the sophisticated techniques used by the professional gamblers. Drawing on exclusive interviews with the bookmakers and players, it also opens the door for the first time on what has become a multimillion pound industry.