What This Article Is About
Sports betting and prediction market apps use many words that can be hard to understand. You may hear your child talk about a parlay, the spread, buying contracts, or cashing out. These words can make gambling sound like a game, a skill, or even an investment. This guide explains common terms in plain language. It can help you understand what your child is doing and have a more informed talk about money, risk, and gambling.
Why These Words Matter
Imagine that your child says, “I only bought a few sports contracts. I’m not gambling.” That may sound different from, “I bet money on the game.”
But the basic action is very similar: Your child puts money at risk and wins or loses based on something they cannot control.
The words may change from one app to another. One app may use words like “bet” and “wager.” Another may use “trade,” “contract,” “shares,” or “position.” Prediction markets may be regulated differently from sportsbooks. Still, both can put a person’s money at risk.
The National Council on Problem Gambling says gambling has three basic parts: something of value is put at risk, chance affects the result, and there is a possible prize. Even when a product has a different legal label (like “prediction markets”), it can fit under this description.
Basic Gambling Terms
Gambling: Putting money or something else of value at risk for the chance to win a prize.
Bet or wager: The money placed on an unknown result. For example, a person may bet $10 that a team will win.
Stake: The amount of money risked on a bet. If your child says, “My stake was only $5,” that means $5 was put at risk.
Bettor or player: The person placing the bet.
Sportsbook: A company, website, app, or location that takes sports bets.
Bankroll: The money a person has set aside for gambling. This word can make gambling sound planned or careful. But a person can still lose the full amount.
Odds: Numbers that show how much a bet may pay. Odds may also suggest how likely the sportsbook thinks an outcome is. They do not promise that the outcome will happen.
Payout: The total amount returned after a winning bet. A payout may include the person’s original stake.
Profit: The amount won after subtracting the original stake and any fees. For example: a person bets $10 and receives a $25 payout. The profit is $15 because the payout also includes the original $10.
Loss: Money that was bet and not returned.
House edge: The advantage built into a gambling product (like an app or physical casino) that helps the company make money over time.
Vig or juice: The sportsbook’s built-in charge for taking a bet. It is not always shown as a separate fee. It may be built into the odds.
Handle: The total amount of money people bet with a sportsbook. It does not mean the amount the sportsbook earned.
Common Sports Betting Terms
Moneyline
A moneyline bet is a bet on which team or player will win. You may see odds such as:
- Team A: –150
- Team B: +130
The minus sign usually points to the favorite. The plus sign usually points to the underdog. With –150 odds, a person would need to bet $150 to make a $100 profit. With +130 odds, a $100 bet would make a $130 profit if it wins.
Favorite and Underdog
The favorite is the team or player expected to win. The underdog is the team or player expected to lose.
Favorites can lose, and underdogs can win. These labels are predictions, not facts.
Point Spread or Spread
The point spread gives the expected difference in the score. It is used to make a game seem more even for betting.
Suppose the Sharks are listed at –7 and the Bears are listed at +7. A bet on the Sharks usually wins only if the Sharks win by more than seven points. A bet on the Bears may win if the Bears win the game or lose by fewer than seven points.
The “spread” is also called the “line.”
Cover
To cover the spread means a team did well enough for a spread bet on that team to win. A team can win the game but fail to cover the spread. It can also lose the game but still cover.
Push
A push is a tie between the bet and the final result. If a team is favored by seven points and wins by exactly seven, the bet may be a push. The original stake is usually returned.
Over/Under or Total
An over/under bet is based on the total number of points, goals, or runs scored by both teams.
If the total is set at 44.5, a person can bet that the combined score will be over or under that number. The half point keeps the bet from ending in a tie.
Prop Bet
A prop bet, short for “proposition bet,” is a bet on something within a game. It may have little to do with which team wins.
Examples include:
- Will a player score a touchdown?
- How many strikeouts will a pitcher have?
- Will the first score be a field goal?
Parlay
A parlay combines several bets into one.
Every “part,” or “leg,” usually must win for the parlay to pay. The possible payout may look large, but each added leg makes the full bet harder to win. For example, a five-leg parlay may require five different things to happen. If four happen and one does not, the whole bet usually loses.
Same-Game Parlay
A same-game parlay combines several bets from one game.
For example, a person might bet that one team will win, a certain player will score, and the total score will be over a set number.
Straight Bet
A straight bet is one bet on one result. It is not tied to other bets in a parlay.
Futures Bet
A futures bet is placed on something that will be decided later.
Examples include:
- Who will win the championship?
- Which player will win an award?
- How many games will a team win this season?
Because these bets rely on future results, it can cause a person’s money to stay tied up for weeks or months.
Live Betting or In-Game Betting
Live betting means placing bets after a game has started. The odds can change from minute to minute. It’s often even encouraged during professional sports games, with in-game advertisements for sports betting throughout.
This can lead to many bets being placed during one game. The fast pace can also make it harder to stop and think.
Microbetting
Microbetting involves very small parts of a game.
Examples include:
- Will the next pitch be a strike?
- Will the next play gain more than five yards?
- Who will score next?
Because each bet ends quickly, a person can place many bets in a short time.
Words Used in Betting Apps
Deposit: Money moved into a betting account.
Withdrawal: Money taken out of an account.
Balance: The money shown in the account. This may include cash, winnings, or bonus funds. Not all of it may be ready to withdraw.
Bonus bet or free bet: A promotion that allows a person to place a bet without using the full amount of their own money. “Free” does not always mean free cash. There may be rules about when it can be used, what odds are allowed, or whether the bonus stake is returned.
Deposit match: A promotion in which an app adds bonus funds after a person deposits money. The person may need to bet a certain amount before withdrawing those funds.
Playthrough or rollover requirement: The amount a person must bet before bonus funds or some winnings can be withdrawn.
Cash out: Ending a bet before the event is over. The app offers an amount based on what is happening at that moment. The person may get less than the full possible payout. They may also lock in a loss.
Push notification: An alert sent to a phone. Betting apps may use these alerts to announce odds, bonuses, close games, or new betting choices.
Self-exclusion: A tool that blocks a person from gambling for a set period. Depending on the program, it may apply to one app, several apps, or gambling sites within a state.
Time-out or cool-off: A shorter break that temporarily blocks access to betting.
Deposit, loss, or time limit: A setting meant to limit how much money a person can deposit or lose, or how much time they can spend on an app.
Prediction Market Terms
A prediction market is a place where people buy and sell contracts tied to future events. The app may look more like a stock-trading app than a sportsbook, but that does not mean someone using it cannot lose money.
Prediction markets allow people to put money on the outcome of a future event. The event may involve sports, elections, weather, awards, financial news, or other topics. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission describes an event contract as a type of contract that pays based on whether a future event happens. Some event contracts have a simple yes-or-no result. (CFTC Prediction Markets Advisory)
Market
A market is the question being traded.
For example: “Will the New York team win tonight?”
People may be able to “buy” “Yes” or “No.”
Event Contract
An event contract is an agreement that pays based on the result of an event.
For example, a “Yes” contract may pay if the team wins and become worthless if the team loses.
Contract or Share
A contract or share is one unit bought in a prediction market. A share in a prediction market is not always the same as owning stock in a company. It may simply be a short-term position on whether something will happen.
Yes and No Contracts
A person may buy “Yes” if they think the event will happen. They may buy “No” if they think it will not.
Suppose a “Yes” contract costs 65 cents and pays $1 if the answer is yes.
If the event happens, the person receives $1. The profit is 35 cents before fees. If it does not happen, the person may lose the 65 cents.
Contract Price
The contract price is what a person pays for a contract.
A price of 65 cents is often read as the market suggesting about a 65% chance. But it is not a scientific finding or a promise. Prices can change based on what people are willing to pay.
Buy and Sell
To buy means taking a position on an outcome.
To sell means getting rid of that position. A person may sell before the event is decided. The sale could lead to a profit or a loss.
Position
A position is the set of contracts a person currently owns.
If your child says, “I have a position on the game,” it means money is tied to a predicted result.
Settlement or Resolution
Settlement or resolution happens when the app decides the final result and pays the winning contracts.
Settlement Source
The settlement source is the source the market will use to decide what happened. It might be an official league score, government report, or other named source.
This matters because the contract is settled by the written rules—not by what a user thinks should count.
Expiration
Expiration is the date or time when trading ends or the event contract closes.
Trading Volume
Trading volume is the amount of buying and selling in a market.
Liquidity
Liquidity describes how easy it is to buy or sell a contract. If few people are trading, it may be harder to sell at the price a person wants.
Market Order
A market order tells the app to buy or sell right away at the best price currently available. The final price may be different from the price first shown.
Limit Order
A limit order tells the app to buy or sell only at a chosen price or better. The order may not go through if no one accepts that price.
Fees
Fees are charges for trading, placing an order, withdrawing money, or settling a contract. They can reduce a person’s profit.
Words That May Point to a Problem
Chasing losses: Gambling again to try to win back money that was lost.
Tilt: Feeling upset, angry, or out of control after a loss and making rushed bets.
Going all in: Risking all or most of the money in an account on one outcome.
Doubling down: Increasing the amount risked, often after a loss.
Borrowing to bet: Using money from friends, family, credit cards, payment apps, or loans to keep gambling.
Secret account: An account hidden from family members. A person may also use someone else’s name, age, payment method, or login.
Problem gambling: Gambling that harms a person’s money, relationships, school, work, health, or daily life.
Gambling disorder: A mental health condition in which a person has trouble controlling or stopping their gambling, even when it causes serious harm.
A Helpful Way to Talk About These Terms
You do not need to know every word before talking with your child. Instead, start with curiosity.
You might say:
“I keep hearing words like parlays and contracts. Help me understand what those mean on the app you use.”
Or:
“When the app says you won $50, does that mean $50 in profit, or does that include the money you put in?”
You can also ask:
- “How much money have you deposited in total?”
- “How much have you withdrawn?”
- “Can you show me your full win-and-loss history?”
- “What happens when a bet loses?”
- “Have you ever tried to win back money you lost?”
- “Do the alerts or special offers make it hard to stop?”
- “What rules do you have for yourself?”
Try to focus on the full picture, not one big win. A child may show you a winning bet without mentioning several losses that came before it.
The Main Point for Parents
Words like “trade,” “contract,” “bonus,” and “cash out” can make gambling sound safer or more like investing. Look past the label. Pay attention to whether your child is putting money at risk, how often they are doing it, and what happens when they lose.
If gambling is leading to lying, borrowing, chasing losses, mood changes, money problems, or trouble stopping, support is available. Parents and other family members can call or text the confidential National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET. It is available 24 hours a day and can connect families with local help.
If you’re not sure what steps to take next, contact our free, confidential helpline. Our trained, compassionate experts are here to listen and help you make a plan.