How to Bet the Stock Market

By Tom Wilkinson

Did you know that you can bet on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ and S&P 500 at online sportsbooks? Some online sportsbooks are accepting wagers on the price of these indexes and some of the books are also accepting live betting wagers, as players can bet on prices per hour. Let’s look at how to bet the stock market and some things to keep in mind.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the main stock market index that measures the performance of stocks on the United States stock exchange. This is the number that is displayed on the news and websites and it is the one that everyone follows. If you are going to bet the stock market this is probably the number you are going to look at first. The DJIA was up near 30,000 in February of this year but because of the coronavirus it dropped over 20%.

When sports betting was virtually shut down because of the virus, many sportsbooks looked at other betting options, including stock market betting. There is no question that bettors like action and the stock market gives them action throughout the week as the DJIA moves up and down. The options for betting the DJIA include hour by hour betting at some sportsbooks in addition to the closing price.

The S&P 500

The S&P 500 is another stock market index and it measures the performance of the top 500 companies in the United States stock market. This average is much smaller than the DJIA, about 10 times smaller, with the number just under 3,000. Many people believe that the S&P 500 is one of the best indexes to follow to gauge how well the stock market is performing. Sportsbooks have put options for betting the S&P 500 with the main option for bettors being the closing daily price.

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ stock market is another stock exchange located in New York City and ranked second on the list of stock exchanges by market capitalization. It is second behind only the New York Stock Exchange. Some sportsbooks are taking wagers on the price of NASDAQ on a daily basis throughout the week. The closing daily price is the most popular of the NASDAQ wagers.

Stock Market Betting Basics

When you make a bet on the stock market it is a wager just like one on football, basketball, baseball or other sports. Normally a stock market wager is based on a money line. For example, the number for the DJIA posted at the online sportsbook could be 24,300. The over on this number could be listed at +120, while the under was -150. Bettors could bet over or under that number. If you wanted to bet over that number you would be getting $120 for every $100 wagered or the 12-10 equivalent. If you wanted to bet the under you would be laying $150 to win $100 or the 15-10 equivalent.

The outcome of stock market wagers are based on results from marketwatch.com, so there is no worry about the exact results being unfairly graded. Sportsbooks have been very pleased with stock market betting and some have said that gamblers have really taken to wagering on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. One sportsbook said that financial gambling offers advantages over financial investments, as bettors can make money regardless of which way the stock market is moving. If the stock market is having a tough day you can still make money by betting under a particular total at the sportsbook. Keep in mind, however, that the sportsbooks are not stupid and they will set the totals based on what they expect will happen. That gives contrarian bettors a chance to go against the grain and bet against what public perception may be.

There is no question that stock market betting has gained a lot of popularity recently because of the coronavirus. Before the pandemic there were not many people who looked at stock market betting. With fewer sports betting options on the board, stock market betting gained popularity and it may keep that popularity even when sports betting returns in full force.