How Does Laying On Betfair Work?

If you’ve often thought you’re better at picking losers than winners, laying those losers on Betfair could be the answer.

The invention of the Betfair betting exchange revolutionized the betting industry, and punters now have the option to both back and lay horses (and other sporting selections), rather than just being able to back them.

Ultimately, betting exchanges gave punters the chance to become bookmakers. You can now lay any selection you think will lose, providing you think the odds offer you some value. You don’t even to make a full book on the event, you can just lay one or more selections if you wish.

How Do You Lay Losers On Betfair?

If you want to lay losers on Betfair, the first thing you’ll need to do is create an account with the world’s most popular Betting exchange. If you haven’t done this already, don’t forget to take advantage of any new member welcome offers that are available. You’ll also need to fund your account with the amount you intend to lay your selection(s) for.

If you’re intending to lay a horse, go to the horse racing menu. Start by clicking on the country in which the race will take place, for example, Great Britain. Then pick the meeting your horse is running at and then the race it’s running in.

You’ll now be able to see the market for the race, with the figures in blue being odds that you can back a horse at and the odds in pink being the odds you can lay a horse at. For example, you might see that you can back a horse at 2.00 (evens) and lay it at 2.10 (11/10).

If you want to lay the horse to win £10 at 2.10, this means your liability will be £11 if the horse wins. This is because you are laying another Betfair punter a bet of £10 at odds of 2.10, meaning they will win your £11 for their £10 stake.

However, when laying selections on Betfair, you do not have to lay the odds you can see on the screen. For example, if you don’t want to lay a selection at 2.10, but would be happy to lay it at 2.00, you can leave a bet to be taken at those odds. If you’re a good judge of the supply and demand for a horse, the horse will be backed in and your bet will get taken before the race or event starts.

If you’re wrong and the odds of your selection drift out, your bet simply won’t get taken and it will be cancelled when the race starts.

How Do I Lay In-Running On Betfair?

The moment any market is in-play on Betfair, you can lay any of the selections. You can either lay them at odds that backers are willing to back them at, or put your own odds in and see if they get taken. Laying in Betfair is quite a tough gig though, as you’ll be up against professionals with state-of-the-art computers and internet connections that are armed with bots that react quicker than humans.

Can I Lay Ante-Post Bets On Betfair?

Betfair offers a variety of ante-post markets, such as big horse racing festivals, golf’s major events, and the grand slams in tennis.
Again, the same principles apply. Lay the odds that are already there or put your own odds in and see if anyone will take them.

Do I Have To Pay Commission On Betfair Lay Bets?

Betfair charges a commission on all winning bets, whether you’re a backer or a layer. The amount of commission you pay depends on how much you use Betfair, but you can choose to pay just 2% of any winning bets you have.

Should I Lay Bets On Betfair?

When you’re trying to make a profit from gambling, you need to find out what your best skillset is. For example, if you look at a horse race and you can pick out one or more horses that can’t win, then laying on Betfair could be your bag.

But you need to be disciplined. If you’re laying even-money shots, you’re only risking as much as you stand to win. But if you’re laying 20/1 shots, then you’re taking a much bigger risk.

The size of the betting bank your start with should reflect this risk. If you’re laying even-money shots, you can probably afford to start with a betting bank of just 25x your per selection stake. This should give you enough scope for the inevitable losing runs. If you lose this betting bank, laying probably isn’t for you.

But if you’re laying 20/1 shots, you’ll need a much bigger betting bank. Just imagine you started by laying two 20/1 shots that won. This would mean you were 40 points down, which takes a lot of getting back.

Just as in any other form of gambling, finding the value is the key. If you’re laying a horse at 2.00 that should be 2.50, you should make a profit in the long run.

If Laying Isn’t For You?

Having read our article about how does laying work on Betfair, you might have decided that laying on Betfair isn’t for you. But if you’re also not good at picking winners, please let me take this opportunity to introduce you to Betting Gods – the #1 tipster platform.

Betting Gods is home to some of the best sports tipsters on the planet, who provide tips for UK and Irish horse racing, US horse racing, football, basketball, ice hockey, American football, greyhound racing, tennis, and golf.

Our tipsters don’t offer get-rich-quick schemes but adopt a pragmatic approach to finding value winning bets to make a long-term profit from gambling. You can purchase a monthly subscription to any of our tipsters, and these will give you access to all their tips. We also offer a variety of ways you try before you buy.

All our tipsters have profiles on the Betting Gods website, where you can see important statistics such as their average monthly profit, return on investment, and win rate. You can also trial any tipster service for a short period at a reduced cost.

If you’re not sure what type of tipster you’re looking for, we recommend you sign up to our daily free-tips newsletter and we’ll send you daily free tips from our selection of our tipsters. This is a great way to have some fun and find your perfect tipster.

We hope that’s answered your question, how does laying on Betfair work.


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