Bags: An abbreviation of Bookmakers’ Afternoon Greyhound Service, usually written in lowercase letters.

Banker: A bet considered surely a winner.

Bankroll: The total amount of money available for sports betting.

Bar:  A term meaning  50/1 or higher odds for a horse not mentioned in the betting forecast

Betting Exchange: A website platform which allows punters to back and lay bets against each other. The exchange’s profit comes from taking a small commission from the winner.

Bismarck: A slang word for an overrated horse, considered the favorite but likely to lose the race.

Blinkers: Also blinders. The leather covers fitted to a horse’s head to restrict its field of vision.

Blanket Finish: When more than two horses finish a race in a really short distance. 

Bookmaker: A registered company that offers odds and accepts bets on the result of sporting or other events.

Canadian: A five selection multiple bet, placed on doubles, trebles, fourfolds and a fivefold.

Chalk player: A bettor who almost always backs favorites.

Chasing: A bet placed for the purpose of recovering lost money. Usually done so immediately after a loss.

Circled Game: A well balanced game, where both teams have equal chances of winning, and the betting activity is limited

Clerk of the Scales: The official responsible for weighing the jockeys correctly at the end of a race.

Co-Favourite: A joint favourite at a race or event with more than two competitors, where at least two of them are offered with same odds.

Correct Score: One of many football (soccer) betting types, where you try to predict the correct score of a match between more than 20 different outcomes.

Covering the spread: The same as betting against the point spread and winning.

Dam: A female horse.

Dead-Heat: When even the photo-finish cannot separate the finishing positions of two or more horses.

Dog player: A bettor who backs the underdog of an event.

Double: A multiple bet with two selections.

Double Chance: Placing a single bet on two outcomes of an event, usually a football match(e.g. 1X, 12)

Drifter: When odds are increasing on a team or horse, as bettors are massively backing the opponent.

Ducking: When the bookmakers offers shorter odds on a team or a horse to avoid big liabilities.

Dutching: Betting on more than one selection on an event (but not all of them) to make equal profit regardless of the winner.

Double Result: A betting result depending on the outcome of two different time periods of the game (usually half time and full time in football matches).

Edge: A punter’s advantage in a bet.

Each-way: A single bet on a winner of a horse race.

Exacta: A multiple bet including the first two horses of a race in the correct order of finish.

Exotic: A slang word meaning any other bet besides the ordinary ones, straights or parlays.

Exposure: The maximum amount of money a sports book can afford to lose in a game.

Favourite: The selection in an event with the lower odds.

First Goalscorer: A bet placed on a player to score the first goal in the match.

First half bet: A bet placed on the halftime result of a sports tie.

Fold: The number of selections in an accumulator bet. A four-fold consists of four different events.

Form: A team’s performance according to the latest data.

Furlong: This is a standard distance unit in racing, equal to nearly 200m. A mile is divided to eight furlongs

Going: A term about the ground condition during a race.

Goliath: A multiple bet including 8 different selections. The bet includes 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 four-folds, 56 five-folds, 28 six-folds, 8 seven-folds and one eight-fold.

Half time result: A bet that involves the Punter correctly predicting the result of a match at half time.

Handicapper: A punter who studies, rates and bets on sporting events.

Handicap race: When horses carry different weights based on their official rating or greyhounds get a head start based on their ability.

Hedging: When you back the opposite outcome in an event you have already wagered on to decrease or minimize the risk.

Heinz: A multiple bet of six selections. The bet includes 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds and an accumulator.

Hook:  The half goal or point added on football or basketball betting lines to exclude the draw.

IBAS: The Independent Arbitration Betting Service, which solves betting disputes between punters and bookmakers.

In- Running: When bets are placed during an event.

Jolly: Another slang word to describe the favorite.

Kelly Criterion: Popular staking method which suggests that stake should be proportional to the perceived edge.

Lay: This term is used in betting exchanges, where players act as bookmakers. By laying bets, they offer betting options to backing bettors.

Layers Liability: The exact amount of money a layer or a bookie can afford to lose if the selection wins.

Lengthen: When bookmakers offer better odds on a possible outcome in order to increase activity.

Line: The odds or point spread offered at a sports event.

Lock: A slang word about a minimum risk bet.

Longshot: A risky bet, having slim chances of being confirmed.

LSP:  Abbreviation of Level Stakes Profit. Calculating the profit you would make if all your stakes had been flat.

Lucky 15: A multiple bet consisting of four selections. The bet include singles, doubles, trebles and a fourfold.

Lucky 31: A multiple bet consisting of five selections. The bet includes singles, doubles, trebles, fourfolds and a fivefold.

Lucky 63: A multiple bet consisting of six selections. The bet includes singles, doubles, trebles, fourfolds, fivefolds and a sixfold.

Martingale: A betting strategy that requires doubling the stake after every loss.

Match Betting: Another name for the popular 1X2 or 3-way betting.

Multiples: A bet that includes more than one selection. You win this bet if all your selections are successful.

Maiden: A horse that has never won a race.

Nap: The safest horse racing bet of the day.

Nb: The second best bet of a tipster.

No action: Another term describing “push”, when your stake is refunded after a bet.

Non-Runner: A horse that originally was declared to run but is not racing.

NRNB: Abbreviation of “Non Runner No Bet” term, if a horse does not show up the stake is refunded as the bet is considered void.

Number Spread: How many goals will be scored in a match.

Odds: A number showing the profit you’ll get if you bet on the specific outcome.

Odds Against: A price that is greater than Evens (1/1 or 2.00).

Odds On: A price that is lower than Evens (1/1 or 2.00).

On the Nose: Betting on a horse to win a race.

Outsider: A team or horse considered the underdog.

Over: Betting on a higher number of goals or points than the bookmaker offered line. For example, betting on over 2,5 goals means that you expect at least three goals.

Overlay: When the odds of a selection surpass what is considered normal.

Over-round: The profit a bookmaker will gain from a certain event.

Pari Mutuel: The name of the only betting system existing in France.

Parlay: Another term for an accumulator bet.

Patent: A multiple bet including three selections. grouped in 3 doubles, a treble and a single on each selection.

Photo Finish: The procedure of determining the results of a horse race when the distance between the first two or more finishing horses is really close.

Picks: A tipster’s selected bets.

Permutations/Perms: The maximum number of bets that can be formed from a number of selections.

Point spread: The goal or points advantage a bookmaker gives to a team before the match starts.

Price: Another word for odds.

Punter: Also called bettor or simply player. A person who places bets.

Quarter bet: A bet on the outcome of one specific quarter of a game only.

Rag: Another word for an outsider.

Round Robin: A type of horse racing bet, including 3 different races, grouped in 3 doubles, 1 treble and 6 single stakes.

Reverse Forecast: A type of horse racing bet, where the player predicts the first two finishers, but not necessarily in the correct order.

ROI: Abbreviation for Return of Investment. A number deriving from the division of profit and the total stake.

Runner: A person who places a bet on behalf of another, an intermediate.

Scout: A punter who wagers occasionally and only on valuable bets.

Sharp: A punter who make a living by betting.

Silks: The different colors of a jockey and a horse.

Single: The easier betting type, including only one selection.

Sire: The male parent of a horse.

SP: Abbreviation for Starting Price. The price of a horse when the race starts.

Special Bet: Every betting type besides the full time match result (1X2 bet).

Spread Betting: A betting type where the bookmaker gives a team a point or goal advantage (handicap) before the match. The total profit or loss depends on the final point or goal difference compared to the handicap.

Steamer: A bet that has become very popular among players.

Stewards Enquiry: An investigation into on goings in a horse race.

Straight Forecast: A bet type for horse racing, where the punter has to predict not only the first two horses of the race, but also their correct order of finishing.

Super Heinz: A seven selection multiple bet . It includes 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfolds, 21 fivefolds, 7 sixfolds and an accumulator.

Super Yankee: The same bet type as a Canadian (five selections).

Tipster: A person who offers or sells his betting predictions.

Tissue: A betting forecast with the purpose of predicting the odds of each runner.

Tongue-Tie: A strip of cloth that helps the horse stabilize its tongue.

Treble: A multiple bet consisting of 3 selections.

Tricast: A horse racing bet type where the punter has to pick 3 selections in the correct order of finishing.

Trixie: A three-selection multiple bet that includes 3 doubles and a treble.

Under: Betting on a lower number of goals or points than the handicap offered by the bookmaker.

Underdog: A competitor or team that is unlikely to win.

Up-and-Down: A bet on two selections, that is placed as two single bets.

Value Bet: A bet that is considered to have better chances of winning than the odds offered.

Void bet: This is a bet which is declared invalid. The stake is returned without deduction.

Vigorish: Also called vig. The percentage a bookmaker charges for accepting a punter’s bet. Vig is embedded to the odds offered.

Visor: A device similar to a cowl, that is fitted to a horse’s head to restrict its field of vision.

Win: A single or multiple bet that makes profit.

Walkover: A race where there is only one runner left, as all the others are non runners.

Yankee: A multiple bet of four selections, including 11 bets, involving 6 doubles, 4 trebles and an accumulator.