When placing bets with bookmakers, you are betting on something to happen. For example, you may back ‘Speedy Runner’ to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and your bet would win if Speedy Runner won the race. Or, you may bet on Mo Salah to be the Premier Leagues top scorer and your bet would win if he scored the most goals that season. These type of bets, where you are betting on something to happen, are called back bets. You can place back bets with any bookmaker like the ones that you’ll find on WhichBookie.com.

However, there is another type of bet that you can place that are the opposite of back bets. These are called lay bets. With lay bets, you are instead, betting on something not to happen. For example, if you placed a lay bet on Man Utd to beat Liverpool, your bet would win if Man Utd didn’t win ie. if Liverpool won or the match ended in a draw. Lay bets can’t be placed with a bookmaker and instead need to be placed on an online betting exchange.

Benefits of Lay Bets

Being able to place lay bets opens up a whole new world of betting opportunities. Instead of betting on a team/horse/player to win, you can bet on the outcome to be any of the other possibilities with one bet.

One advantage of lay betting is the ability to lock in a profit from your bets.

For example, let’s say that you backed Manchester United to beat Liverpool and Man Utd were winning 2-1 going into the last 10 minutes of the game. It’s a nervous time for you as one goal from Liverpool would scupper your bet and you’d lose your bet entirely.

At this point, you could place a lay bet on Manchester United which would mean that you win your bet with the bookmaker if Man Utd win and win your lay bet with the betting exchange if Man Utd don’t win. Essentially, you are locking in a profit from your bet regardless of the outcome.

Sound familiar?

This method is similar to cashing out your bet with a bookmaker where you are able to lock in a return from your bet before it has settled.

So, should you cash out your bet with the bookmaker or lay your bet on a betting exchange?

There are pros and cons to both options.

One benefit of laying your bet, instead of cashing it out, is that you don’t have to cover your entire back bet. Instead, you can lay a small amount which could result in you making a profit if your bet with the bookie came in but still receiving some returns if it didn’t. Some bookmakers do allow customers to do this using ‘Partial Cash Out’. However, partial cash out is not available with all bookmakers.

Another advantage of laying your bet compared to cashing out with a bookmaker is that you’re often able to get bigger returns. This will depend on the back odds available at the bookmaker and the lay odds at the exchange at the time of cashing out or laying your bet but generally, you can get better odds on a betting exchange which means that your returns are greater.

Also, bookmakers apply a margin to bets which means that a small amount of value is removed both when placing your initial bet and cashing it out which both contribute to the reduced returns.

Now for the disadvantages of laying your bets.

As betting exchanges don’t apply margins like bookmakers do, they charge commission. Commission is usually applied to winning bets and is generally between 2%-5% with most betting exchanges.

Another negative with laying your bets is that you are relying on liquidity in the market. If there isn’t enough liquidity, your lay bet may not be matched which would result in your bet not being placed or possibly only partially placed. Compare this to cashing out with a bookmaker with the click of a button and it’s not difficult to understand why many punters stick with bookies for the easy option.

Having an account with an online betting exchange is often a good idea if you bet regularly. Having the option to be able to lay your bets can result in greater returns compared to cashing out but it is always best to compare the two figures before doing so.