Have you ever tried spread betting?
This is a high volatility, potentially high reward form of betting that could see you win more – or lose more – if your bet lands or doesn’t.
For example, if the goal spread line in a Premier League game is three and you backed the overs side, your potential profit would increase if there’s five, six, seven or more goals scored.
However, your loss would increase if the game ended 0-0, rather than if two goals were scored.
Anyway, it’s an interesting way to bet if you think you have an edge in a particular market or simply want to up the ante… although the number of firms offering spread bets in the UK is a little light on the ground.
And that got even thinner still when Spreadex acquired Sporting Index, their main rival, back in November 2023.
But the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided that the merger created a spread betting monopoly for Spreadex… and that could mean an uncertain future for Sporting Index.
A Tasty Spread
One way to run a successful business is to offer a better product or service than your competitors, while another is to offer a widely available product or service cheaper or faster.
A third option is to simply bulldoze your way to supremacy in an industry by buying up your main competition… Spreadex, who arguably offer the best spread betting product anyway, took the route one option by acquiring their chief rival, Sporting Index, two years ago.
A CMA investigation was triggered, with the organisation keen to analyse whether or not Spreadex had effectively created a monopoly for themselves with their aggressive buy out.
That was initiated back in 2024, with CMA officials confirming that Spreadex’s takeover of Sporting Index ‘substantially lessened competition in the UK’s licensed online sports spread betting market.’
In fact, the CMA’s independent panel decided that the acquisition ‘eliminated competition’ in the sector, therefore creating a monopolistic environment.
In doing so, the panel reasoned, the quality of the UK spread betting market was greatly reduced, while warning that Spreadex could offer less competitive odds and spreads as a result of their supremacy.
Richard Feasey, the CMA’s independent panel chair, remarked:
“Sports spread betting – like any other market – needs competition to drive good customer experience, maintain choice and keep prices competitive.”
The outcome of the investigation was that Spreadex would be forced to sell Sporting Index to a CMA-approved buyer, which would see the Sporting Index platform operated separately from Spreadex – creating more competition in spread betting in the UK.
Spreadex appealed the decision to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), who in March of this year referred the case back to the CMA for further examination.
And now, six months later, the CMA has confirmed that their original verdict will still stand, so Spreadex will now need to entertain offers for their secondary spread betting platform.
Whether a licensed buyer can be found is another matter entirely, however…
The Biggest Spread Bet Wins In History
Spreadex has a history of miscalculating things.
For the football World Cup in 2018, they made such a hash of pricing up a VAR-related goal market that they were taken for thousands by enterprising punters.
Others, meanwhile, have profited beautifully via the unique nature of spread betting. Spreadex offers a market for total goal times in football games, e.g. if two goals are scored in a match in the 15th and 65th minutes, the final result would be 80 (15 + 65).
They offered the same market for the Premier League game between Arsenal and Newcastle United back in 2012, with a spread of 158-168 offered.
The firm then watched in horror as the sides played out a ten-goal slobberknocker, with the Gunners prevailing 7-3. The total goal time? That was 641, meaning that punters buying the spread won 473x their stake.
That same year, their rugby league multi-points market – which sees a team’s points tally in the first half multiplied by their second half score – was offered for the game between Bradford Bulls and Hull.
The spread on Hull was 132-142 points, so when the Humberside outfit racked up 28 points in the first half and 42 in the second as they romped to a 70-6 victory, their multi-points tally was 1,176… meaning that plucky punters landed 1,034x on their unit stake.
Don’t forget, there are risks to spread betting – if that Hull vs Bradford game had somehow ended 0-0, punters would have lost 132x their stake. But when things do go right, spread betting can be an interesting angle to take…