This article will cover the process of lay betting, previously touched on when we detailed the basics of betting exchanges.
What is lay betting?
Lay betting as previously touched on is the process of betting against a result happening. In effect it is the complete oposite to traditional betting and gives you the role of becoming the bookmaker yourself by allowing you to take bets on result. 
With the introduction of online betting exchanges in recent times lay betting has increased in popularity and although it can be used exclusively on it’s own in the same way as traditional betting it also opens up the oportunity to trade on an even and lock in either a loss or profit as explained later on. To a certain extent laying a bet was available prior to the introduction of betting exchanges when bookmakers offer additional markets on such sports as football.
Take the goals market offered by many bookmakers on popoular Premier League matches, you have the option to bet on 0 goals and the option to bet on 1 goal or more which is the equivalent to laying a bet on 0 goals as you would be betting on their either being 0 goals or more 0 goals.
If bookmakers had a difference of opinion on the goals market there would have been an opportunity to place an arbitrage bet and make money on the market regardless of the result, but that is another area of betting in itself.
How does lay betting work?
Laying a bet involves a similar procedure to that of placing a bet online, you just need to be aware that by laying a bet at certain odds you can lose more than you are laying, and therefore need to have the required liability in your online account to cover all eventual outcome.
Lay betting does have an increased risk over traditional sports betting as depending on the odds you can lose a lot more than you stand to gain as we will explain below.
Take this as an example:
Aston Villa are playing Everton in the Premier League and you believe that Everton will not win the match. Now instead of placing bets on both Aston Villa to win and the Draw you can lay Everton. By doing this you are betting against Everton winning the match, if Aston Villa win or the result is a draw then you will win your lay bet. However if Everton do win then you will lose your lay bet and will have to pay out on the Everton win much in the same way as a bookmaker would.
Put the above into money terms and the process is easier to understand. Say Everton are 3/1 to win the match and you decided to lay them for £10, if Aston Villa win the game or it ends in a draw you would make £10 (less any commission taken at the exchange) as by being the bookmaker in effect you have taken £10 of someones bet that they have placed on Everton to win.
If on the other hand Everton win then you would need to pay out on your lay bet and at odds of 3/1 your would lose £30, proving that there is an increased risk of losing more money when lay betting so approach with a little caution until you understand the concept fully.
Where and how do i place lay bets?
Lay bets are placed at a betting exchange such as Betfair or Betdaq, open an account at either and follow their online guides to get started palcing lay bets.
Locking in a profit or reducing a loss with lay betting.
It is possible using a mixture of lay betting and trading to lock in a profit on a bet prior to completion of the event. Many betting exchanges and some bookmakers offer in-play betting, also known as in-running or live betting on many sports.
So using the previous example if Everton were to go a goal down you would be able to use the increased odds in the market on the Everton result to lock in a profit on the match without waiting for the final result. This is handy in cases where you feel that the result is likely to change as you can take a smaller profit and run safe in the knowledge you have made money and will not lose any. The same can then be applied to reducing any loss on a lay bet, by backing the same result you can lock in a loss and reduce your lay bet exposure, again suitable if you feel there is no way back and the lay bet will have to be paid out.
The possibilites with lay betting and mixing it in with market trading, live betting and some concepts used when arbitrage betting can be endless and allow a much more flexible way of betting online in general.
Open an account at either of the main UK betting exchanges Betdaq or Betfair and have a try lay betting.
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