Sentence:  Whether you want to gamble on a horse race, bet on which player will score first in a game of football, have a <WSD>punt</WSD> on a particular tennis player winning a grand slam event, you are buying a chance, a chance which is measured in terms of probability, ‘the odds'. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To stake against the bank, to back a horse, to gamble or take a chance more generally