How to Use a Sports Betting Exchange to Maximize Profits

Many new sports bettors are often under the assumption that in order to make a profit betting you just need to win more often than you lose. The more one gets into betting, however, they realize that isn't the case thanks to the "juice" charged by sportsbooks. That's where betting exchanges come in. A betting exchange is a marketplace that lets sports bettors wager against each other instead of the sportsbook, effectively lowering or eliminating the "juice" altogether. Wildly popular overseas, betting exchanges are starting to make their way stateside with places like Prophet Exchange soon going live in New Jersey, and Indiana not far behind. Without having to worry about juice, betting exchanges are a great way to maximize your profits while gambling. Let's show you how...

What is Lay Betting?

Lay betting is essentially betting on something not to happen. Being able to bet against something is tough to find at regular sportsbooks, but lay betting on an exchange is easy. Lay betting is a way to make sure you're profiting on a longshot wager that has improving odds. Let's use golf for example. Say I really like the way Justin Thomas is playing a few weeks before the Masters and I bet him at 20/1 for $100 on a sportsbook to win the Masters. If he goes out on Thursday and shoots an opening-round 65 and is at the top of the leaderboard, his odds will drop dramatically.

At that point, once his odds have dropped, I can go to Prophet Exchange and lay Thomas at 1/5 at $200. If someone takes my bet and Justin Thomas wins the Masters, I pay out $1,000 to the person that took my bet and then collect $2,000 from my original 20/1 bet. If Thomas loses, I lose $100 to the sportsbook but get $200 from my lay bet.

How do Betting Exchanges Help to Maximize Profit?

Betting exchanges are a great way to help bettors maximize profits. Whether it's lay betting to hedge a bet or simply not having to lay juice on bets with sportsbooks, your losses are usually less painful using exchanges. As long as you can find someone on an exchange to take the other side of your bet, you control your own market on betting exchanges. You pick your lines and your odds. Without having to worry about the middle man of the bookmaker, exchanges allow betters to maximize their profits and also lessen their losses without having to worry about the juice going to the sportsbook.

This article is intended for entertainment purposes and adult users only. Call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem.