Can You Make a Living From Spread Betting?

As an avid spread-better, have you ever wondered if you could turn your hobby into a lucrative career? Spread betting offers the potential for sizable winnings, but it also comes with risks that could significantly impact your livelihood if spread betting became your primary source of income.

While some professional spread betters can generate consistent profits through research, strategy, and risk management, many others struggle to win over the long run.

Before you decide to become a full-time spread bettor, you need to go in with realistic expectations about the challenges involved and whether spread betting can realistically sustain your lifestyle.

With diligent work and the right mindset, spread betting may be able to provide you with a steady income stream, but there are no guarantees of success.

Understanding spread betting: What it is and how it works

To understand spread betting, you must first comprehend what spread betting is and how it works. Spread betting is a tax-free derivative product that allows you to speculate on the price movement of thousands of financial instruments like shares, currencies, and commodities.

With spread betting, you don’t buy the underlying asset. Instead, you place a bet on whether the price of the asset will rise or fall. The more the price moves in your favour, the more you gain. Conversely, the more it moves against you, the more you lose. You can bet on markets to rise (go long) or fall (go short).

The spread betting company quotes two prices: the buy (higher) price and the sell (lower) price. The difference between the buy and sell price is known as the spread. You bet a certain amount per point of movement. If you bet £5 per point and the market moves 10 points in your favour, you win £50. If it goes against you by 10 points, you lose £50.

Profits and losses can be substantial due to leverage. You only deposit a percentage of the total trade value, known as the margin requirement. This allows you to gain a much larger exposure to the underlying market. However, while potential profits are unlimited, losses can also exceed your deposits.

To be a successful spread-better, you need an appetite for risk, strong analytical and strategic skills, discipline, and money management techniques. 

If you possess the necessary skills and traits, understand the risks fully, and implement prudent strategies, spread betting can potentially provide an income. However, it is challenging and not suitable or viable for most people as a primary source of income.

Skills and strategies needed for profitable spread betting

To be a successful spread-better and potentially make a living from it, you will need to develop certain skills and strategies.

Knowledge and experience

First, you need to gain extensive knowledge about the markets, sports, and events you want to bet on. Study historical data to identify trends and patterns. The more experience you have, the better your judgement will become in analysing risks and rewards.

Managing risks

Risk management is key. Only bet amounts you can afford to lose. Set stop losses and don't chase losses. Diversify your bets across different markets and sports. Consider hedging to offset potential losses. Always think about the risks before the rewards.

Having an edge

Look for an "edge" that gives you an advantage, such as specialised knowledge or analytics. For example, if you have experience with tennis, focus on spread betting in that sport. 

Or if you're skilled with numbers, analyse statistics to detect pricing errors by the bookmakers. Find your edge and exploit it.

Discipline and patience

Perhaps the most important attributes for any spread better are discipline and patience. Do extensive research, plan your strategy, set limits, and stick to them. Don't bet just for excitement. Remain detached from the outcome. If you make logical and thoughtful bets with discipline over the long run, you have a better chance of being profitable.

Analysing the risks: Can spread betting sustain your lifestyle?

To make a living from spread betting, you must go in with realistic expectations about the level of risk involved. While the potential rewards may be high, spread betting also amplifies your loss exposure. 

Only a small percentage of spread bettors can achieve consistent profits over the long run. Before you decide to rely on spread betting as your sole source of income, carefully weigh the risks and have backup plans in place.

Spread betting is a form of leveraged speculation. The leverage means that you only have to put up a small deposit, called a margin, to gain full market exposure. While this can maximise your gains, it also maximises your losses. 

A streak of losing bets or an unexpected market event could wipe out your bankroll quickly. It may be difficult to recover from heavy losses, especially if you have ongoing financial obligations to meet.

The financial markets can be volatile and unpredictable. There is always a chance of losing money, no matter how skilled or strategic you are. Market conditions change constantly in ways that are outside of your control. Although you can take measures to mitigate risk, like setting stop losses and diversifying your bets, there is inherent uncertainty involved with spread betting.

Making a living from spread betting requires an extremely high tolerance for risk and uncertainty. Before becoming a professional, you must determine whether the unpredictability and possibility of loss fit your financial situation and personality. 

Have a plan for how you will support yourself during periods when profits are elusive. And be prepared for the reality that sustained profits may prove challenging to achieve, even for the most disciplined and skilled spread bettors.

The cons of making spread betting your full-time career

Making spread betting your full-time career is appealing but also comes with substantial risks and downsides to consider:

Time commitment

To be successful at spread betting as a career, you need to commit a significant amount of time to researching the markets, analysing data, and actively monitoring your positions. This can often mean long hours in front of a computer screen, which may not suit everyone's work preferences or lifestyles.

Irregular income

While the potential rewards of spread betting are high, the income can also be irregular and unpredictable. Some months may result in high earnings, while others may end in losses. 

This uncertainty may not provide the steady income some desire in a primary career. Creating a risk management plan and diversifying your trading can help mitigate some of this variability.

Isolation

Spread betting as a career often involves working alone. You don't have coworkers or a traditional office environment. While some may thrive with autonomy and independence, others may miss the social interaction and professional relationships that come with a more standard job.

Stress

The volatility of the markets, the potential for losses, and the pressure of spread betting as your sole source of income can lead to high levels of stress. The emotional ups and downs involved may take a psychological toll over the long run. Strong discipline and risk management skills are essential to cope with the stresses of this career path.

While spread betting offers the appeal of flexibility, independence, and uncapped earning potential, the risks and responsibilities that come with it as a full-time job are not insignificant. 

For the right type of person, with the necessary skills and temperament, spread betting can be a rewarding career. But for others, it may be better left as a side hustle or hobby. Weighing all the pros and cons is important before pursuing spread betting as your main profession.

Is spread betting a viable source of income?

Spread betting can potentially be a viable source of income if you develop the necessary skills and strategies to profit consistently over time. However, there are risks to consider before pursuing spread betting as a career.

Developing expertise

To make a living from spread betting, you must become highly proficient in analysing statistics, understanding betting principles, and developing effective strategies. This requires continuous learning and practice. With experience, you can become adept at evaluating odds, spotting value bets, managing risk, and adapting strategies to evolving market conditions.

Managing risks

While the potential rewards of spread betting are high, the risks are also considerable. The unpredictability of the markets means significant losses are possible. 

You must implement prudent risk management techniques, set stop-losses, diversify your bets, and never gamble with money you cannot afford to lose. It can take years of experience to become consistently profitable.

Considering the lifestyle

The lifestyle of a professional spread-better can be appealing but also demanding. You must monitor the markets daily, constantly analyse data, adjust strategies, and place bets. This requires discipline and long hours. The instability of income from spread betting also means lifestyle changes may be necessary to accommodate variance in your earnings.

Wrapping up

While spread betting offers an exciting opportunity to generate income through your knowledge and skills, it requires diligent work and risk management to sustain yourself financially. With the right mindset, strategies, and risk controls in place, spread betting can provide a viable career path for those seeking an alternative source of income or a more flexible lifestyle.

However, go in with realistic expectations about the time required to become consistently profitable and build sufficient funds to replace a traditional income source.

For most, spread betting may be better suited as a supplementary revenue stream rather than a sole means of making a living.

If you have the discipline and patience to develop your craft, spread betting can be a rewarding lifelong endeavour.

After reading this article you might wonder, how can I start spread betting?

Worry not! With markets.com you will have so many markets to trade, and with our flexible and accessible platform, there’s an opportunity for every type of trader.

“When considering “CFDs and Spread Betting” for trading and price predictions, remember that trading CFDs and Spread Betting involves a significant degree of risk and could result in capital loss. Past performance is not indicative of any future results. This information is provided for informative purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.”