Fixed-odds financial betting is a relatively new concept in financial trading. Put simply, it affords you a number of ways to bet on the movements of global financial markets. They are called "fixed-odds" because they pay a fixed amount (or nothing) on expiry, depending on whether or not the bet is successful. When you buy a fixed-odds bet, you are entitled to receive a payout, which is a fixed multiple of the amount you have staked. If the bet is successful, you will profit by a predetermined amount. Before any bet is placed, you also know the entire possible downside as well as the exact possible profit.

Fixed-odds trading varies from "traditional" trading by allowing far greater flexibility. In more conventional types of trading you buy a market (or sell it) and can only profit if the price rises (or falls) from your entry point. With fixed-odds betting, however, you can profit in many other ways, such as forecasting that the market price will or won't touch a certain level over a given time period, or that it will break out of a given trading range within a specified time. It allows you to profit in rising, falling and even flat markets.

Fixed-odds trades expire either at a profit or loss. Before even entering a trade, a trader can determine how much he would like to profit by if his forecast is correct, and how much he is prepared to lose if he is wrong. A further advantage of fixed-odds betting in the UK is that profits are tax free.

BetOnMarkets is currently the market-leading fixed-odds betting platform.

A trader feels that the GBP/USD exchange rate has bottomed out and is ready for an upward reversal. As a result, he decides to place a "No Touch" bet. No Touch bets are used when a trader believes the market will not touch a given level during a specified time period.

Seeing the price currently resting at 1.8620 and an upward reversal indicated on his charts, the trader believes it is unlikely that the market will trade through 1.8480 over the next seven days. He heads to BetOnMarkets.co.uk and enters in the following trade:

"I wish to win GBP3000 if the GBP/USD rate never touches nor trades through 1.8480 over the next 7 days"

To trade, he must "buy" the bet from BetOnMarkets. The purchase price of a bet can be thought of as your stake. In this example, BetOnMarkets calculate that the bet will cost him £1750 to purchase. Satisfied with the deal, he buys the bet.

Over the next 7 days, GBP/USD does indeed reverse and move higher. The market never threatens the 1.8480 barrier the trader had specified in his bet. After the bet has expired, 7 days after he bought it, the trader sells the bet. The sale price of the bet is £3000 - the amount he specified that he would like to win when placing the bet.

His profit is the sale price of the bet minus the purchase price: 3000 - 1750 = £1250 profit.

In a different scenario, had his forecast been incorrect, and the GBP/USD rate continued downwards through the 1.8480 level, the trader would have lost his initial £1750 stake.

It should be noted that you can sell your bet at any time. Throughout the entire period a trade is running, BetOnMarkets will give you a price at which you can sell your bet which fluctuates depending on how the trade is faring. If the market moves against you, your sale price diminishes. If it moves with you, it increases. This allows a trader to take profits early, or cut losses on trades he feels are struggling.

There are a wide variety of bets available, including:

Bull/Bear - You believe that the market will be above or below (respectively) a given target at the close of the market on the date the contract expires.

Expiry Range - You believe a given market will be situated between two predetermined target levels at the close of the market on the date the contract expires.

One Touch - You believe the market will touch a given point at least once before the contract expires.

No Touch - You believe the market will never reach a certain level within a specified range of time.

Barrier Range - You believe the market will never touch two predetermined barrier levels (high and low) before the contract expires.

Double Touch - You believe the market will touch both a predetermined high and a predetermined low boundary before the contract expires.

Up or Down - You believe the market will touch either of two predetermined barrier levels (high or low) before the contract expires.

Intraday Up or Intraday Down - Buy this bet to play a market rise/fall (respectively) between two given market times today.

Run Bets - Very short bets, effectively games of chance, giving you the chance to win up to 10 times your money in just seconds.

At BetOnMarkets, you can place all these types of bet on numerous global markets, including the World's major stock indices (FTSE, Dow, NASDAQ etc), the forex market (GBP/USD, EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, USD/JPY and more) and even some major share prices.

At CityBeaters we specialise in No-Touch bets on the Forex market.

For further info, head to BetOnMarkets.co.uk and click Help > FAQ.