gateway bet

This is a bet for which the odds offered on a small outlay are so good that you are bound to win.  A multi (multiple bet) offers this kind of excitement.  The initial bet is only a couple of dollars but the winnings roll over from one leg of the bet to the next so that if you manage to win all the separate bets then the money you make is quite surprising.  If you lose, it is a trifling amount and not a worry.  Just part of the entertainment.  This is the kind of bet offered to entice people to gamble or to return to gambling.  That first euphoric moment of winning is what people remember and it is what drives them on to achieve another win.  Of course the betting after that is stacked against them.

A gateway bet is modelled on a gateway drug.  This is a drug that seems harmless but entices people to cross the line and enter the world of illegal drugs which become increasingly addictive and dangerous. Some people argue that marijuana is a gateway drug.