Best Lay Betting Sites in the UK: What is Lay Betting?

Lay Betting Explained

The main difference of placing bets on betting exchanges from betting with traditional bookmakers lies in the fact that you are not playing against the bookmaker, but against another bettor. That is, you can act as a bookmaker by setting your own odds for a bet or as a punter by accepting other customers’ odds. If you respond to other punters’ bet, in which they have specified the stake amount and odds, you have placed a lay bet.

A back bet is a classic bet, just like at any traditional sportsbook: you select a sporting event and a market, place a bet on it, and, if such a bet wins, you get your winnings. For example, on Betfair, which is one of the most popular and well-known betting exchanges, you can bet on the victory of the Italian national team at odds of 3.05. This is the most popular betting market, it is highlighted in color in the selection of betting events, and there are options with lower odds to the right of it. So, if you place a £10 bet on the victory of the Italian team in this match on Betfair, you will receive net winnings of £20.50. These odds are higher than those of other bookmakers, for example, a bet on the victory of the Italians at VBet goes for 2.90, and at 32Red - 2.80. But do not forget about the commission charged by the betting exchange. It is charged when such a bet wins and usually amounts to around 2-3%.

A lay bet is a bet against any outcome. In the selection of betting events, lay odds are also highlighted in color and located to the right of back bets. By placing a lay bet, we act as a bookmaker and accept a bet from other punters who have made a back bet. Therefore, lay betting odds initially include the amount we risk losing and giving to those who made the opposite bet. This amount is called liability.

Let's consider the same match as an example: we place a lay bet on the Italian team not to lose the match.

The initial odds in the selection of betting events are 2.64. Where we normally indicate the stake amount, we enter the desired amount of winnings, let's say it is £10. We get payout (£26.40) and liability (£16.40) indicators.

Is it profitable to place a lay bet on a betting exchange? As an alternative to a lay betting calculator, there is a special formula that you can use to determine lay betting odds based on liability: the desired amount of winnings (£10) on your lay bet should be divided by the total stake amount, including liability (£26.4), plus one. In our case, this is: 10 / 26.4 + 1 = 1.38. In other words, we place a lay bet of £26.4 at odds of 1.38 on the Italian team not to lose the match.

And this is precisely the case when the exchange is not profitable: on most traditional betting sites, the odds for this market are higher and are around 1.50. It is evident that the bettor, who placed the back bet on the victory of Italy offered odds that were clearly unfavorable for lay betting. And you can do the same, hoping to find inattentive opponents on lay betting sites, who will not check lay betting odds.

What is Liability in Lay Betting?

Liability is the amount of money that you risk when placing lay bets. Essentially, it is your stake amount for betting. If the bet loses, the lost money will not go to the bookmaker or the betting exchange's pocket, but to the account of the bettor who placed a back bet.

To place a lay bet, you need to find an opponent, i.e., a punter, who has already placed a back bet on the opposite final outcome.

What is the Meaning of Laying Off a Bet?

Laying off a bet is when you place a second bet to offset the potential losses of the original bet. This is a lay bet, but only against your previous bet: your previous forecast no longer holds true and you decide to place a new lay bet to cover your losses.

For example, if you lay a bet against a particular football team and the team wins, they may lay off the bet by placing a second lay bet that covers the potential losses from the first bet. To lay off your bet is akin to cashing out your bet in advance, as it enables you to secure winnings that are lower in value, but guaranteed.

Is Lay Betting Legal?

If you place lay bets at online licenced bookmkers, your money and data are safe. Lay betting is legal in the UK by law. And from the table above, it can be seen that for the bookmaker, this is often just another type of bet. You know it is a lay bet because it is opposite to one of your previous ones.

4 Best Lay Betting Sites

Is There a Commission on Lay Betting?

Yes, there is usually a commission charged on lay bets. This is how the betting exchange makes its money. The commission on a lay bet is always a percentage of the winnings.

Lay Betting in Popular Sports

Football is one of those sports where even without betting exchanges there have always been plenty of lay betting markets. Bet types like double chance, both teams to score and even goals O/U are actually pairs of back and lay bets. These options have been seriously expanded by betting exchanges, and on the best betting sites, you can place a lay bet on shots, corners, statistical player and team performance.

It is quite difficult to choose a horse that will win a horse race. It is much easier to choose the one that will not come first. This is where horse racing lay betting is used. If you place a lay bet on a horse, you will be a winning bettor, if the chosen horse fails to finish first. Keep in mind that liabilities can be astronomical.

Cricket attracts many lay betting fans in the UK. In addition to the obvious betting options against the winner of the match or tournament, on the best lay betting sites, you can place prop bets, such as innings line, innings runs/overs and even to win the toss ones.

Lay Betting Tips & Strategies

In this section, Match.Center experts will provide some tips and a lay betting strategy that can be used when placing lay bets on betting sites.

How To Place a Lay Bet?

Let’s take a look at the process of placing a lay bet on the example of the Smarkets bookmaker and betting on the France vs the Netherlands match. Here is the instruction: