You can see the back and lay odds below:


The most obvious way to take advantage of lay betting is through Matched Betting. This is a technique that takes advantage of bookie offers, allowing you to place a qualifying back bet and lay it for a loss of only a few pence, and then use your free bet reward to make a guaranteed profit - so long as you do it right.


Making money on Betfair is all about backing and laying at the right times.

For example, at the start of the 2015–16 season, Leicester City were available at a huge price to win the Premier League but their odds were much shorter as they closed in on the title.

Euro 2016 provided a profitable trading opportunity too.

Unsurprisingly, the favourites were the traditional powerhouses of European football - Germany, France and Spain.

You can bet on the exchange rates while using Lotus365 which gives you an opportunity to Back or Lay your bets. We have a range of sports betting alternatives with cricket, football, and tennis being some of the popular games.

Backing and laying are simply opposites:

Betfair is one of the best betting exchanges around if you’re looking to place lay bets on sporting events from across the globe. We’ve provided you with a step-by-step guide on how to place a lay bet on Betfair.

If your lay bet is matched, you will be liable to pay out the winnings to the user who placed the back bet if the selection wins.

We’ve already touched on the concept of commission, but it’s worth reiterating that you’ll usually be charged a percentage of your profits at an exchange, whether on back or lay bets, and it’s important to take this into account when Matched Betting.

You can choose to now ‘lay off’ this bet. By laying the same bet as you back, you are betting both for it to happen, and for it not to happen. Because the odds have got shorter, you are heading to a profit. This is similar to cashing out your bet earlier. Laying off your bet allows you to take reduced, but guaranteed winnings.


Remember, Betfair also charge a small commission on winning bets.

This is different to laying a bet. Laying off a bet refers to betting against something you have already backed.

Mitä ne back- ja lay-sarakkeet ovat?

If your lay bet wins, you’ll receive the £100, minus a commission of 5%. This is how our betting exchange of choice for this example, Betfair, make their money.

How To: Lay Betting | Learn About Lay Betting | Betfair Hub

Similar logic works for sport. Let’s say the odds for Jordan Spieth to win the Masters Tournament are too short, but you don’t know who else to back. Place a lay bet on Spieth and you are backing any of his opponents to win instead. Sounds easier, right?

Opas lay-vedonlyöntiin aloittelijoille

So long as the liquidity shown is higher than the lay stake you want to place, your lay bet will be immediately matched as soon as you place it. As you can see, there are several sets of odds available for each selection - back odds in blue, lay odds in red. The best odds are shown in darker blue and red, but you also have the option of choosing slightly less advantageous odds if there isn’t enough liquidity for the amount you want to stake. So for example, you might want to lay £10 on a draw - but as there’s only £4 liquidity at odds of 3.6, you could choose to lay at 3.65 instead.

Vedonlyöntipörssi: Lay-veto eli vastaveto ..

As they recorded a string of stunning results during - including wins home and away against the Netherlands - their odds to win Euro 2016 started to steadily drop.

It was a fantastic back-to-lay opportunity, with traders who backed Iceland earlier at odds of 500/1 able to lay at much shorter odds in order to lock in a profit.

To lay a bet simply means you are backing something not to happen

A back bet is a bet that a particular outcome will occur, while a lay bet is a bet against that outcome.

Back and Lay Betting Explained for Beginners | Goal Profits

Turn to a lay bet and you’re essentially backing the other horses in the race to beat the one you’re laying. On sheer head count alone (23 against one), the odds are stacked in your favour.

What is the meaning of lay and back in betting

As standard, our Matched Betting calculator will work out the right amount to lay to produce equal profit regardless of the outcome of an event.

In a nutshell, a lay bet is when you back an event NOT to happen

If you wanted to lay the Sydney Swans in the AFL Premiership market at the odds of $8.00 and entered a $10.00 stake, that means there is someone else putting $10.00 on (backing) for the same result to happen at the same odds.

Why and how to Lay bet on the Betfair Exchange

The only exception to this is if you place lay bets against multiple outcomes at one exchange. For example, if you placed the above lay bet against a draw, and then also placed a lay bet against Crystal Palace winning. As it isn’t possible for both these outcomes to occur, you can’t possibly lose both bets - so the exchange will take this into account when calculating your liability.