The Australian betting industry has gone through some pretty big changes of late. No longer can you receive sign-up bonuses from agencies in Australia, making it that little bit harder to work the odds into your favour. However, what we do have at our disposal is the Betfair exchange. Unlike your ‘normal’ betting agency where it’s you versus the Bookmaker, Betfair is a peer-to-peer wagering platform. Betfair allow you to both ‘back’ and ‘lay’ bets, which gives you complete control and a totally unique betting experience.
The Betfair exchange can be a little daunting at first, but once you’re used to it and understand the markets, you’ll be able to get the best odds available anywhere in the country.
Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be taking you through some of the tactics you can employ to utilise Betfair to your advantage, and hopefully, increase your long-term profits.
We’re starting off with the basics. Today, we’re looking at the differences between backing and laying bets and when it’s the right time to do so.
Back Betting
Back betting is your ‘usual’ type of betting that you’ve likely been doing with other Australian Sportsbooks. Simply put, it’s betting on an outcome to happen.
Example: I put $50 on Collingwood, who are paying $2.40, to defeat Richmond on Friday night.
This means I’m liable for $50.
Positive Outcome: Collingwood wins, so my back bet is successful. I win $2.40 (layer’s odds) x $50 (my stake) = $120
Negative Outcome: Richmond wins, so my best is unsuccessful. I lose $50.
Most people already understand the ‘backing’ concept, which is the most common way to wager worldwide. This is the only way you can wager your money at Bookmakers, and it’s also offered at Betfair.
Lay Betting
Lay betting is a different type of betting experience that the Betfair exchange offers. In contrast to backing an outcome, when you ‘lay’ a bet it means you’re betting on an outcome NOT to happen.
Laying a bet is most popular with racing or sporting events with a big field of contestants. Some people prefer to lay bets rather than back bets, because it’s much easier to pick one horse/sportsperson that won’t win among a big field.
Example: I lay $50 on Novak Djokovic to win the US Open at odds of $3.00 and it gets matched by someone ‘backing’ him.
This means I’m liable for $3 (lay odds) x $50 (backer’s stake) = $150 - $50 (backer’s stake) = $100.
Positive Outcome: Novak Djokovic doesn’t win the US Open and I receive $50 from the punter that backed him to win.
Negative Outcome: Novak Djokovic does in fact win the US Open. I must now pay out $100 ($3 x $50 = $150 - $50 = $100) to the punter that backed him to win.
Laying a bet may seem confusing at first, but it’s actually quite simple and easy to do once you initially wrap your head around it.
That concludes our first in a series of Betfair strategy articles. Be sure to check back soon to see more ways to use the Betfair exchange to your advantage, and click on the banner below to create a Betfair account today!
