Lay bets form an intrinsic part of arbitrage betting in sports. Hence, for any punter, it is necessary to understand how lay bets work.
The difference between a lay bet and a normal bet is fairly easy to understand. In the case of a normal bet, one makes a bet on a player/team to win an event during a match or a race. In the case of a lay bet though, a punter bets on a player/team NOT to win an event. You are effectively acting as the bookmaker by taking back bets from other punters.
Example: Suppose Chelsea and Arsenal are playing a premier league match –
a. A regular bettor would head to their chosen bookie place a regular ‘back’ bet on Arsenal at, say, bet365 and will win the bet at bet365 if Arsenal go on and win the game in question.
b. However, if you place a lay bet at Betfair on Arsenal, you stand to win your bet at Betfair if Chelsea beat Arsenal OR the match is drawn. As long as Arsenal do not win, you will win your bet at Betfair.
Laying Arsenal in such a game is tantamount to backing Chelsea to either win or draw the game. If one is able to combine a lay bet at a betting exchange with a regular bet with bet365 or another bookie, one could have all sides of the bargain covered if the odds allow. Hence, one will make a profit either way, despite which way the match swings. This is known as arbitrage and you can read more on arbitrage here.
Lay bets can be placed on betting exchanges such as Betdaq, Betfair, Ladbrokes Exchange, Smarkets, WB,X and Matchbook. As is the norm with betting exchanges, one does not place their bets against the exchanges themselves, but with other customers on the exchange. Thus, there must be a layer and a backer for every bet made at an exchange. Working out your return on a lay bet is easy when you use our free lay bet calculator.
If you lay a bet on Betfair and someone backs it up, your bet will be matched on the exchange. Once the bet is matched, the same cannot be cancelled unless such action has the consent of the exchange in question and this only happens in exceptional circumstances.
It is unlikely that you will get the chance to lay for the same kind of prices that the bookies are laying at, particularly on the more popular markets but it is possible on the quieter markets if you are patient. You need to request a lay price which needs to be the current best offer and wait for it to be taken or beaten by another lay bettor.
Some of the terms associated with lay betting are as follows:
Backer’s odds: The backer’s odds are nothing but the odds on one’s lay bet. The higher the odds, the higher the risk will be for the one who makes the lay bet.
Backer’s stake: This is nothing but the total amount that you want to make from a lay bet, say £100. If we take the above example of the match between Chelsea and Arsenal, if you layed Arsenal, you stand to win £100 minus commission if Chelsea wins or the match ends in a draw.
Commission: Betting exchanges charge a certain percentage of your winnings for sustaining themselves. Betfair charges a fixed rate of 5% by default. However, this value decreases with the amount of money that you turn over at the betting exchange.
Liability: In the case of a lay bet, the liabilities always depend on the stake and the odds that one lays on. In a case where the backer’s odds is 5 means that a loss of that bet will cost the bettor four times (5-1) his stake on the lay.
Lay betting is an interesting arena which is still developing. This kind of betting is especially popular with people who are into arbitrages. However, lay bets have slowly started to find more takers which explains the popularity of the betting exchanges at the present time. Lay betting has also had a bad press in the horse racing industry and there have been people who are directly involved with horses that have been found guilty of laying horses on Betfair.
When you lay a selection you are effectively backing it not to win. We can therefore come up with the equivalent back odds of your lay selection. The formula to convert your back odds into lay odds is (1 / (odds-1)) + 1. You can also use our handy back/lay odds converter to do this for you. If you have found this guide handy, you can read similar guides on our betting guides resources page.
How to Benefit from Lay Betting
The easiest and clearest way to take advantage of lay betting is through matched betting. This is a system that looks to benefit from bookie offers, giving you the chance to place a qualifying back bet then lay it for a really small loss, then use your free bet to lock in a guaranteed profit. This all works as long as you do it right.
There are numerous different types of bonuses out there, such as extra place offers, bet boosts and racing refunds which can be used to profit via matched betting.
Football Laying System
Access to betting exchanges has made betting more interesting. It gives bettors the opportunity to bet against each other directly in attempts to make a profit. Football is the most popular sport in the world which gives players multiple chances to make some money, so, naturally, football lay betting has become a common betting strategy over recent years.
Of course, a lot of people will question how do you win by laying football events. Like anything with betting, there are no guarantees, but there are certainly things you can do to increase your chances of making some money.
With that said, let’s take a look at some football lay betting strategies.
Lay the Underdog
This is a bet to make when there are clear favourites and underdogs. This system requires you to make a lay bet against the underdog. You will need to utilise live betting and in-play odds. As the action gets underway, you may see the underdogs pushing forward and starting to take control of the game, then is the time to make your move.
If we use an example. Let’s say Liverpool are playing Southampton. Liverpool are the clear favourites and they are 1-0 up at half-time and the game is going as expected. However, the Saints start the second half well and you feel like the are really growing into the game. Then, they equalise, this is when you instantly lay Liverpool at better odds.
Lay the Draw
Laying the draw on a football game is an extremely effective strategy because it is so simple to do. It is really beneficial because the bet becomes a winner only if the match finishes in anything other than a draw.
Predicting a draw in a football match is very difficult. Most teams are focused on scoring goals these days, the fans want goals, the TV audiences want goals. No manager is going to last long if he’s setting his teams up for a 0-0 draw every week.
Let’s take a fixture between two of the bigger clubs, say Arsenal and Man City. Man City are going into the game in hot scoring form while Arsenal are struggling in front of goal. Usually, you would back City to win because they score at will, but, placing a lay to draw bet assures a profitable results as you expect City to score. As soon as one of the teams scores, the odds will move to suit you more, which indicates you should cash out and lock in some returns.
Laying Bets can be Profitable
If you lay bets correctly you can certainly make a profit, especially with football lay betting since the introduction of betting exchanges. A lot of bettors are so eager once their account has been set up that they just jump in without any strategy or plan in place. The trick is to set out with a solid strategy and stick to it, even if it doesn’t go how you want straight away. It will pay off in the long run.
