Quick Version
Log in to betfair.com → choose Exchange → pick sport → pick market → click the blue/pink left button for the selection you want to back → enter your stake → click Place bet. Done.
If you want the full mental model of what you just did, read Back Betting Explained or the cluster pillar Betfair Exchange Beginner's Guide.
Before You Start: Account Ready?
You need a verified account with funds. If you haven't done this:
- Open and verify the account: Account Setup Walkthrough or step-by-step guide.
- Set deposit limits: see our responsible gambling page.
- Deposit at least £5 (the £2 minimum bet plus a small buffer).
Web Walkthrough
The top-left toggle on betfair.com switches between Sportsbook and Exchange. Make sure you're on Exchange — Sportsbook is the bookmaker product and behaves differently. Why this matters.
Left-hand sport menu → click "Football" or "Horse Racing" → drill into the specific event. Stick to liquid markets when starting: Premier League, major race meetings, Grand Slam tennis. Why liquidity matters.
For football, "Match Odds" is the simplest start. For horse racing, the win market is default. Each row shows a selection with two coloured buttons: blue/pink on the left = back; pink on the right (sometimes labelled "Lay") = lay.
The left side of each row. The big number is the price (decimal). The smaller number underneath is the £ available at that price. Click the price you want.
The bet slip opens on the right (web) or pops up (mobile). Type your stake. The slip immediately shows your projected profit if the bet wins. Double-check the price displayed matches the price you intended — sometimes it moves while you click.
The bet is sent to the matching engine. If liquidity is available at your price, you'll see "Matched" within a second. If not, the bet sits as "Unmatched" until someone takes the other side or you cancel.
Mobile App Walkthrough
Same flow, fewer pixels. Tap the hamburger menu → Exchange → Sport → Event → Market. Tap the back price (left button), enter stake in the popup, tap Place Bet. The mobile app has a "Quick Bet" mode that skips the confirmation step — turn that off for your first 50 bets while you're learning.
Worked Example
Market: Manchester City v Aston Villa, Match Odds.
Selection: Manchester City to win.
Back price displayed: 1.65 with £12,400 available.
Stake: £20.
Projected profit: (1.65 − 1) × £20 = £13.00. Less commission (5%): £12.35 net.
Matched: Instantly — there's £12,400 available at 1.65, far more than you need.
If City win: account credited £33.00 (stake + net profit).
If City don't win: stake of £20 lost.
Matched vs Unmatched Bets
Two states matter:
- Matched: Someone has taken the other side of your bet at your price. The bet is live.
- Unmatched: Your offer is in the order book waiting for someone to take it. You can cancel an unmatched bet at any time before it's matched.
If you click an offered price and the £ available exceeds your stake, you'll match instantly. If you offer a better price than what's currently available (e.g. asking 4.0 when best back is 3.80), your bet sits unmatched until the market drifts to your price or you cancel.
Commission
Commission applies to net winnings only. Most accounts: 5%. UK and Irish horse racing: 2% as of 2026. New accounts often get a 0% or reduced rate for the first 30 days. Detailed in Betfair Commission: How Much You Pay and our commission guide.
Mistakes Beginners Make
- Backing in the Sportsbook by accident. Always confirm "Exchange" toggle.
- Clicking lay instead of back. The lay button is the right side. Easy to misclick on mobile.
- Asking for a price that won't match. If you ask for 4.5 when the market is 3.8, you sit unmatched.
- Forgetting commission. Always think about net profit.
- Backing in a thin market. If only £8 is available at the price, your £100 stake won't fully match.
- Confirming a moving price. If you see "price has changed", read the new price before re-confirming.
The Confirmation Step
By default, Betfair requires you to confirm before placing the bet. The bet slip shows: selection name, back/lay, price, stake, projected profit/loss. Read it before clicking "Place bet". Two common errors get caught at this step:
- Wrong selection. If your eyes land on the row above or below the one you intended, you'll see the wrong name.
- Decimal/integer typo. "100.00" vs "10.00" stake — easy to mistype on mobile.
You can disable confirmation in account settings ("Quick Bet"). Don't, in your first 50 bets. The two-second confirmation step has saved more accounts than any other interface feature.
Reading the Prices Properly
Before you click, the price you're seeing has three layers worth understanding.
Decimal odds
Every Betfair Exchange price is in decimal format. 2.00 = evens. 3.00 = 2/1. 5.50 = 9/2. The number represents your total return per £1 staked, including stake. Multiply stake × odds for total return; subtract stake for profit. To convert from fractional: (numerator ÷ denominator) + 1.
Implied probability
1 ÷ decimal odds = the market's estimate of probability. 2.00 = 50%. 4.00 = 25%. 10.00 = 10%. If you think a selection's true probability is higher than the implied figure, the back is a value bet. The whole point of betting smart is to find selections where your estimate is higher than the market's.
Available £
Below the price, in smaller print, is the £ available to be matched at that price. If you see "£842" and you click with a £100 stake, you'll match instantly and the displayed total will drop to £742 (your stake came out). If you see "£12" and click with a £100 stake, only £12 of your stake matches at that price; the remaining £88 will sit unmatched at the same price (waiting for someone to take it) or push to the next available tick depending on your "match at all available prices" setting.
Persistence and Bet Types
The bet slip has options most beginners ignore. Three are worth knowing:
- Take SP (Starting Price). Tick this and your bet matches at Betfair Starting Price when the market goes in-play. Useful for set-and-forget pre-event bets.
- Keep / Cancel at SP. Decides what happens to unmatched bets when the market turns in-play. Default is "Cancel" — your unmatched stake is returned. Some traders use "Keep" to leave a probe order in-running.
- Persistence: Lapse / Take SP / Keep. Same idea — what to do with the unmatched portion at the off. As a beginner, leave on default Lapse.
Cancelling and Modifying Bets
An unmatched back bet can be cancelled at any time before it's matched. On the website, "My Bets" shows all unmatched orders with a Cancel button. On mobile, swipe the bet for cancel. Once a bet is fully matched, you cannot cancel it — your only exit is to lay the same selection at a price (which is the trading move). Read Swing Trading for the back-then-lay exit logic.
Partial matches are common in liquid markets. If you stake £200 at 4.0 and only £50 was available at 4.0, you'd be matched £50 and £150 would be unmatched at 4.0. You can either wait, modify the price (cancel and resubmit lower), or lay the £50 already matched if you've changed your mind on the trade.
What Happens After You Click "Place"
Behind the scenes:
- Your order arrives at the matching engine within milliseconds.
- The engine checks for an opposite (lay) order at your price. If yes, it matches you and locks the stake from your account.
- If liquidity is partial, you get a partial match plus an unmatched balance.
- If no opposite order exists, your bet sits in the order book at your price as an offer.
- The bet appears in "My Bets" → "Matched" or "Unmatched" depending on the outcome.
- When the market settles, winnings are credited to your account automatically. Commission is deducted from net profit.
Sport-specific: settlement is usually within minutes for football and tennis, within an hour for horse racing (after stewards' enquiries clear). Some markets settle next business day.
How Much to Stake
For your first 50 bets: £2–£10 each. The minimum is £2 in most regions. The point of small stakes during learning is to internalise the mechanics without bleeding capital. Anyone who tells you to start at