Betfair.net

One of the most popular features of Betfair, rather than through a conventional bookmaker, is the ability to bet against something happening. At Betfair, we call this lay betting. We decided to make this possible for sports fans because, without knowing it, we all talk about lay betting in our daily lives.

Ever sat down for a drink with your friend who's been a lifetime fan of a less than successful football or hockey team but remains convinced every year that their team will come good at the end of the season? Ever taunted this friend by stating "I bet that doesn't happen?" If so, you've already mastered the basic theory of lay betting and, on Betfair, you have the chance to make money by using this concept.

We can examine this further by looking at an example. Let's look at the current odds for the Pittsburgh Penguins to win the Eastern Conference. To do this, I'm just going to find the NHL 09/10 Eastern Conference Winner Market on Betfair and see what odds are currently appearing next to the selection: Pittsburgh Penguins. They are currently on at +134 if you wanted to bet FOR them to win the Eastern Conference.

Looking at these odds, you might start thinking that although the Pens are good, their odds are too low to win the conference this year. You might then look at some alternative teams, to see if they offer better value for the win. The Boston Bruins are on at +410 for example.

This price obviously offers better value but picking one team such as the Bruins to win the conference is a risk. You might think that the Penguins won't win the conference but you also might not feel comfortable backing a different team for the win.

Lay betting solves this dilemma. By laying the Pittsburgh Penguins, you're basically backing everyone else in the NHL 09/10 Eastern Conference Winner Market to beat the Pens to the ultimate prize.