Spread betting, a form of gambling, is legal in only four of the United States. This could change if only the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1993 could be circumvented, as several states are attempting to do. This would allow U.S. citizens to reap the rich rewards available.
Although 90 percent of trades fail, there is no shortage of stories of success in spread betting that might cause you to take advantage of one of the many spread betting offers available from major spread betting companies such as Cantor, and start trading for yourself.
37 year-old Michael Pierce from Dublin in the Republic of Ireland won a prize draw after applying for a live account with Paddypower and emailing millionpoundtrade@paddypower.com. He is now permitted to place a spread bet on the financial markets worth a million pounds. The prize was to celebrate the launch of Contracts for Difference by the spread betting company, Paddypower, in October, 2010. Pierce can choose a market, a direction and a price target, after which Paddypower will place $620,000 trade on his behalf. He will lose nothing if the trade makes a loss.
Pierce has traded online for several years and says he is fascinated by markets and their component industries, and has been studying fervently in preparation for this trade. He usually trades forex and silver. He said that any winnings will probably be spent paying bills incurred by his wife’s shopping activities. A spokesman for Paddypower said the company wished to delight its clients with unique promotions such as this.
Another story shows that it is possible to make money from property without the boring business of actually purchasing a house, paying tax and being forced to deal with sinister estate agents. Many more young people are now spread betting on property prices in the face of a volatile stock market.
33 year-old Simon Smith bets on the direction of house prices. He initially did so for amusement four years ago when property spread betting was at an incipient stage, but found himself so successful that he left his job as a systems analyst for a major British university and took up the practice full-time. He bets on house prices recorded by the British government or the leading survey of house prices between three and 12 months in advance. He made large winnings betting against the prospect of a property crash in the United Kingdom.
Smith says he is surprised more people do not do as he does, given the British obsession with house prices. He suggests that perhaps people have gambled as much as they would wish merely by buying a house. He logs on to his spread betting account three or four times a week and has made enough to pay off his mortgage. He says he is not a great gambler, but is good at maths and enjoys taking calculated risks.