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Premiership Today » Betting Exchanges

Online Betting Exchange Guide

Betting Exchanges Explained

The focus of this, our 'how to' guide to bet exchanges is clearly on footballing betting - rather than horse racing, which is what all the other betting exchange guides seem to concentrate on.

The Basics of The Exchanges

All sports exchanges (BetFair.com, Betsson and others) operate in largely the same way with punters betting against each other instead of a bookmaker.

The exchange itself takes a small commission from each bet.

How Do I Bet on A Betting Exchange?

As a punter, you have two choices - you can 'back' a selection or, um, 'lay' it.

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Backing A Selection

This is, up to a point, pretty much like the normal fixed odds betting you get with a bookmakers. You pick your winner and place your bet.

Unless, that is, you don't like the odds you are offered. In which case, hit the 'back' button and enter the odds you would like to get. Submit this and it will be moved to the 'lay' section where hopefully another punter will agree to meet your bet.

If no one agrees to 'lay' your bet at the price you want, you will either have to lower it or take whatever odds are already being offered.

Note: Odds on betting exchanges are pretty much always in decimal rather than fractional format.

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Laying A Bet

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This is, essentially, where you act as a bookmaker and offer odds to other members of the bet exchange on a certain match or event. If the punters 'backing' the bet lose, then you win.

In other words, 'laying' is betting on something to lose.

Here's an example from our betting terms guide:

You 'lay' Chelsea to win the League (this means you are betting on Chelsea NOT TO win the League) at 1/2.

You stake £100 - this is the maximum you are prepared to lose.

Because you are laying odds of 1/2 you can take bets up to £200. (£200 x 1/2 = your £100 stake).

If Chelsea do win the Premiership, you lose your £100. If they don't win the Premiership, you get to keep the stakes - £200.

Live Betting

In-running (betting while a match is being played) is one of the features that really makes betting exchanges like BetFair come alive.

You can be sitting watching the match only to see, say, Watford start to give, for example, Manchester United a damn good hiding.

A crazy rush to back Watford will result, meaning that the prices collapses and you can offer a 'lay' bet secure in the knowledge that United will probably make mincemeat of them in the second half.

Football Betting Tips For Bet Exchanges

The major betting exchanges have most of the same football markets as the fixed odds bookmakers, so if you are a gambler who likes to bet longer odds markets like 'correct score', you can cover these slightly riskier bets by laying them off at Betsson or one of the other exchanges.

Long Term Football Bets

The real value for football bettors is in being able to change your position and guarantee a profit when betting on long term events, such as 'Outright Odds To Win The Premiership' or 'Odds to Win the F.A Cup'.

As an example, you bet £15 on Manchester United at the outset of the season to win the League at 7/1. By January, you might be regretting that decision. So, you 'lay' Manchester United (ie: bet on them not winning the league) at 3/1 with a £60 stake.

If Manchester United win The League: Your first bet comes home with a £105.00 + £15 stake = £120.00.

Your 'lay' bet at the exchange loses, which means that your profit is:
£120.00 - £60(losing 'lay' bet) = £60.00.

If Manchester United Don't Win The League: Your first bet loses your stake of £15.00.
Your 'lay' bet wins, earning you £20.00. Result: a £5.00 profit.

In other words, you put yourself in a win/win position. This can be done with pretty much all longer term football bets. It's this that makes the betting exchanges such a valuable tool in the football gamblers arsenal.

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