Estimates suggest that around 10% of the UK adult population engages in sports betting, with some 9% active online. This level of engagement underpins a lucrative and highly mature market, which covers numerous sports and betting lines.

Most bettors in the UK wager on a casual basis, which means that they wager recreationally and irregularly. However, it’s still important to wager responsibly at all times, helping you manage your spending and enjoy betting. 

An investor mindset can also intersect with sports bettors, even those of you who wager casually. But what’s the crossover between sports betting and investing?

The Similarities Between Sports Betting and Investing

When you bet on sports online, you’re engaging in a practice that has many similarities with investing. Firstly, both sports betting and investing are speculative activities. This means that you’ll stake or commit money in the pursuit of a potential return. This incurs a variable level of risk, while chance will also play a role in determining all possible outcomes.

Each bet and investment will also carry odds, which imply both potential returns and the probability of success. You can also follow expert sports betting tips online, which may provide additional insight and potentially unlock new markets. Thanks to this, as well as the odds provided by bookmakers, implied probability values are much easier to calculate in the world of sports betting.

You can also target a wide variety of markets and assets when you engage in sports betting and investing. Your choice of market can also have a significant bearing on your experience.

How to Demonstrate an Investor Mindset

So, there are certainly some similarities, particularly in terms of calculating risk. Because of this, there are practical ways that the two can intersect: 

  • Analysis is Key: An investor mindset is an analytical one, which bases its picks and decisions on detailed datasets. As a sports bettor, this means targeting datasets that are relevant to your chosen market, which can include home and away form, injury news, and recent head-to-head information. As mentioned, there are also specialised blogs that can provide betting tips and analysis. 
  • Use the Kelly Criterion to Set Stakes: Some people use tools like the Kelly Criterion to help set limits, but remember, no system guarantees profit. This system uses a mathematical equation to suggest the percentage of your bankroll you should commit to a particular market. This will be based specifically on the prevailing odds, prospective payout, and probability of success.
  • Use Deposit and Wager Limits: One way in which investors safeguard their capital is to use tools like stop-losses (which automatically close trading positions once they’ve incurred a predetermined level of loss). Sports bettors can access similar tools, including deposit and wager limits. They work by capping the amounts with which you wager and credit your account, based on your betting frequency and responsible gambling. 

Responsible gambling is also key to an investor mindset, as this leverages practical tools to manage bankrolls. 

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