What Is Lay Betting?
A lay bet is a wager on an event not to happen. This can be on there not to be a penalty in a football match, a horse not to win a race, or on a team not to make the semi-finals.
There are countless over examples from bet builder options to the outright football betting markets.
Think of a lay bet as the equivalent of challenging some by saying “I bet you X won’t happen”. You might recall saying this to friends, colleagues or family members. This is effectively a lay bet.
The same is true when you are watching sporting events. While it can be tough to predict the eventual outcome of a horse race or football match, you might often find it easier to take a stance that one horse/team will not win.
In this instance, lay betting allows you as the gambler to back your belief and bet that something won’t happen.
Lay betting potentially has larger losses than a straight-up bet on an outcome to happen. It is imperative anyone looking to get lay betting explained fully grasps the stakes and potential losses before placing their lay bets.
Betting Exchange
A betting exchange is where you are most likely to see lay bets. People who have focused on fixed-odds sports betting might not be familiar with how a betting exchange works.
A betting exchange is essentially a marketplace for punters/gamblers. It is like a stock market, but people are dealing in winners and losers instead of stocks and shares.
Exchange betting allows punters to buy or sell on an outcome. For instance, you might buy a horse at a certain price but look to place a lay bet when the price changes.
Trading on a betting exchange as the prices move is a way to ensure profit regardless of the outcome. Some people will carefully follow betting exchanges year-round in an effort to make money.
The key difference between a betting exchange and a traditional bookmaker is that on the betting exchange, gamblers bet against each other. Essentially, you can dictate what price you want to back, or lay, any given outcome at.
In many markets there will be significantly more fluctuation in terms of the price available on a betting exchange, as different, independent parties take a viewpoint on how the event is going to unfold.
On a betting exchange, customers can take on the role of bookmaker, by setting their own odds on a sporting event and accepting bets, or the punter, by placing bets using the odds offered by other exchange users.
With exchange betting, it is the customers, not the traditional bookmakers, that set the market by offering their own take on the prices of each outcome.
A betting exchange merely facilitates its users in placing and accepting the wide variety of bets on both winning and losing outcomes (backing or laying). The betting exchange will typically charge a nominal commission on bets placed.
Lay Betting Systems
Seasoned punters will use both sides of a betting exchange to enhance their potential profit. This means buy and selling on the exchange and placing plenty of lay bets when the markets are favourable.
For instance, you might back a horse to win a race at 20/1. If their price shortens before or during the race, you could then place a lay bet on this horse to guarantee at least some profit.
Look into using a back and lay calculator to find the best way to achieve this outcome.
Bettors require an in-depth understanding to pull this strategy off. It takes time to learn the ideal strategy, but it can be profitable when executed correctly.
Lay Betting in Horse Racing
Lay betting is very common in horse racing. It is especially popular on races with a clear favourite, as a lay bet can be a good way to effectively wager on any other horse in the field to win.
It is not always a worthwhile option if there is no clear favourite.
Lay Betting in Football
A lay betting example in football is a wager on a team to not win a match. If Barcelona are facing Villarreal, for instance, and you think Barca aren’t going to win, you can play a lay bet.
This wager would pay out as a winner if Villarreal win or the match ends in a draw.
Get to Know Lay Betting
The general concepts of lay betting are the same across every sport. It is imperative you fully understand how lay betting works before you start placing bets.
What is a Lay Bet?
In a nutshell, a lay bet is when you back an event NOT to happen. It can be a horse not to win a race, a team not to win a football match or even an athlete not to win a certain event. Essentially, the punter becomes the bookmaker in a bid to cover a favourite losing.
What Does A Lay Bet Pay?
As with all wagers, the odds-on lay bets varies depending on a number of factors. If you want to lay a favourite in a five-runner horse race, you may get decent odds – essentially this means that as long as one of the other runners wins, your bet is a winner.
Can You Bet On A Team NOT To Win?
Yes – that is exactly what lay betting is. The main objective of a lay bet is to take the favourite on. If you expect a shock result but can’t quite predict a winner, you can lay the market principle instead of backing one of the other competitors to win.
What Sports Are Best For Lay Betting?
The most popular sports for lay betting are horse racing and football, but it is also popular in other sports as well. Sometimes, bookmakers will offer ‘lay’ odds on major events with a clear favourite, such as Manchester City to win the Premier League.
Can You 'Lay Bet' With 888sport?
While there is not an option to lay a bet with 888sport like there is on an exchange platform, you can still lay certain bets. In football, you can take advantage of ‘double chance’ markets which is essentially the same as laying.
For example, let’s say you want to lay Manchester City in their Premier League clash with Chelsea. Instead of actually clicking a lay bet button, you can back Chelsea to win or draw via 888sport’s double chance market.
